Partnered By Fate
by GleeFilly
Summary: Of course she had everyone's number from Glee club programmed into her phone..she just wasn't aware anyone else actually had hers at all. The tiny diva tried to think of a plausible reason that the cheerleader could be texting her and came up with nothing.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** So, this is the second story I'm publishing on here. It's a lot longer than my first one. Right now it's a oneshot but if you guys want more, I'll probably make it a multi-chapter fic. Let me know in the reviews!

* * *

It all started started on a rainy Wednesday October morning. She had woken up late, rushed through getting ready and skipped breakfast because she was running so low on time. To top it all off, the electric engine batteries were running extremely low as was her gas tank forcing her to get gas before going to school. She had already missed most of first period, her perfect attendance that she's kept up until now in junior year tarnished by her tardiness. She drove to school quickly, angry at herself for being so late.

She parked the car in the very back of the lot, another downfall to being late, and ran into the school, trying to avoid the rain as much as possible. As soon as she entered the building, she was met with a cherry slushie and a vulgar insult. _Just perfect._ She thought bitterly, rushing to the bathroom to rinse her eyes out.

She was definitely not going to make it to first period today. _There goes my perfect attendance. _She sighed, taking her time to rinse her face and sweater to the best of her ability. As soon as she was done, the bell rang signaling that first period was over.

She took a deep breath and held her head up high as she walked out of the bathroom to her locker to retrieve her books for the rest of the day. She had a sinking feeling that it was going to be a _very_ long day.

* * *

Her feeling wasn't wrong. She was slushied twice before lunch and once more before Glee. Her English homework was destroyed in one of the attacks, and of course her teacher didn't find it to be an acceptable excuse. She had forgotten a textbook at home in her rush to leave, and couldn't find a single person from her first period to ask about the work she had missed. In all, it was a bad day for one Rachel Berry.

When she got home that evening, she had headed straight upstairs to shower and wash the awful day away. She set her phone on her desk next to her laptop, collected her shower things and turned her iPod up to the max volume. A perk of her dads being away on business was that she could play her music as loud as she wanted, and after today it was definitely something she needed. She took her time, letting the steaming hot water consume her and burn the day out of her mind. She stepped out feeling refreshed and relaxed, a welcomed difference.

She dried off and got dressed, putting on her favorite pair of gray WMHS sweatpants matching them with a plain white v-neck shirt and braiding her hair before it dried. She sat at her desk and opened her laptop, deciding to spend some time online before starting her homework. As she was browsing through her Facebook newsfeed, her phone buzzed loudly from the spot next to her laptop. Rachel looked at her phone confused,

_(2) new messages from: Santana Lopez_

She bit her lip nervously, of course she had everyone's number from Glee club programmed into her phone..she just wasn't aware anyone else actually had hers at all. The tiny diva tried to think of a plausible reason the cheerleader was texting her and came up with nothing. She opened her text folder worriedly, tapping on the messages from the other girl.

_5:30 "u werent in first period & i got stuck with u as my partner for the bio project bc i was late & every1 sux."_

_6:45 "wow i made rachel berry speechless..im calling guinness to put my name in the record book."_

Rachel sat with her mouth wide open in shocked horror as she read the messages. Yes..today really was a bad day. She checked the time quickly to see how long since the last message was received. _7:03_ the clock on her nightstand read in angry red color. She quickly typed out a response to the cheerleader.

_"Oh, my apologies Santana. I was not around my phone at the time of your messages. We do not have to work together, I can talk to Mr. Greene tomorrow morning and tell him I wish to work alone, as do you I presume. Not a problem, I will handle it! Thank you for letting me know Santana."_

Rachel read the text twice before sending it to making sure it was thoroughly good enough to send. She made her way down into the kitchen and warmed up some leftover vegan lasagna she had made the night before. She sat on the counter as she waited for her food to heat, her phone buzzed signaling a new text. Rachel opened it quickly, crossing her legs and placing her elbows on her knees.

_"wow ok berry too many words..u talk alot over txt too jesus christ. i nvr said i dont want to work with u streissand id rather not do this project alone even if u r my partner."_

Rachel stared perplexed at the message, she thought for sure that the other girl wouldn't want to work with her and would jump at the chance to work alone instead.

_"Oh, well alright Santana. I guess I will not take offense to that comment? That being said, I know I am not exactly the most loved, let alone liked person at McKinley so please do not feel pressured by any means to work with me. Also, if you do choose to work with me please know we do not have to work in the library or even actually together. We can email back and forth, or something else! Let me know."_

She removed her food from the microwave and set it down before sending Santana another text before the girl could reply.

_"Also it has just occurred to me that I do not even know what this project is..do you happen to have a copy of the sheet you'd be willing to photograph and send me? Thanks in advance!"_

She made her way into the living room, setting herself on the large, comfortable sofa and changed the television to _CSI_, one of her all time favorites. Half an hour into the show, her phone buzzed with a new text from the Latina.

_"i dont even remember any of what u said as im replying to u. i want to work with u dwarf & idc where or who sees im santana lopez nobody fucks with me. its a big project thnkfully not due till right b4 christmas break. r u busy right now we can go over some stuff?"_

Rachel sighed and stared at the television..she did have homework to do..but it's not like she was doing it.

_"I am not busy, how do you want to do this? Email? Skype? Over the phone?"_

Rachel was barely able to set her phone down before she received a response from the girl.

_"b there in 10"_

Rachel bit her lip nervously and pressed her hands together tightly, she was definitely nervous for the cheerleader to arrive. What if it was all some sort of prank? She would soon get her answer.

* * *

There was a heavy knock at the door, making Rachel sit up stiffly. "Well..now or never." She muttered to herself as she walked to the door to let Santana in.

"Hello, Santana. How did you know where I live?" She asked, opening the door wider as the girl made her way inside.

"Don't ask questions, Berry. Where do you want to work on this?" Santana asked standing with her arms crossed protectively over her chest. Rachel noticed the girl was no longer in her cheerleading uniform, which made sense seeing at it was 8pm. Instead the girl was dressed in black torn skinny jeans with a white tank top and a leather jacket. She subconsciously looked down at her own outfit, feeling ridiculous.

"We can work in the living room, I'm just going to run upstairs and grab my books and laptop." She said as she turned up the stairs to retrieve her things.

Santana quirked an eyebrow at the girl as she went up stairs, not knowing where exactly the living room was she walked tentatively down the hall. The walls had pictures of the family, ranging from old to very recent, some even including Shelby Corcoran. _That's weird.._ Santana thought as she made her way into the living room. She half expected some sort of musical to be playing on the tv, but was pleasantly surprised to see _CSI_. She sat down making herself comfortable as she waited for the girl to come back down.

While she was waiting for Rachel to come back down, she spotted the girls lasagna laying forgotten on the table. _That smells delicious_, she thought to herself as she grabbed the fork to try a bit. Before she knew it the entirety of it was vanished, and she began to worry knowing the girl would probably notice.

Rachel stood in her room nervously not wanting to go back down just yet, how did she end up in this position? She narrowed her eyes at her alarm clock, "This is all your fault." she angrily whispered at it before walking out of her room making her way into the living room.

The first thing she noticed when she walked into the living room was Santana sprawled out on her couch. The second thing she noticed was that her plate of lasagna was finished, and she definitely didn't remember finishing it. She cleared her throat, making Santana jump up in shock. "Oh Jesus, Berry you're like a little mouse. I didn't even hear you come down the stairs. I uh, hope you don't mind I made myself at home." She said, gesturing to her books sprawled out on the floor and her laptop open and running beside her.

"Uh..no, it's fine I'm just going to run my plate into the kitchen and then we can get started." Rachel said grabbing her plate and turning to leave. "Sant.." She started but was cut off quickly.

"I'm sorry! It was just lying there, completely forgotten about and it smelled so good and I just couldn't help myself." Santana blurted out quickly.

Rachel stood shocked at the girls outburst for a second before laughing, "I was just going to ask if you'd like some more, actually. Or a drink." She smirked at the other girl slightly.

Santana grinned sheepishly, "I'd love another piece..and a glass of water..Thanks, Berry."

Rachel smiled and nodded at the girl as she made her exit. She was surprised at how easy this was, she didn't feel awkward in the slightest. She returned with the food and drinks and set them down on the table, "So, what is this project? I feel really out of the loop, I don't remember him ever mentioning such an assignment. Especially one this large."

Santana instantly dug into the lasagna groaning in delight at how good it was. "Fuck this is so good. Uh, today was the first he's mentioned the project actually..which is really unprofessional in my opinion. He basically gave every pair a certain vitamin or mineral and we have to do an entire project on it. Essay, project board, molecular structure, the works."

Rachel sighed, she really wasn't expecting it to be that much seeing as it was already mid-October and they haven't even done a lot in class which she blames solely on the teacher. "Is this his way of teaching, because it's stupid. The other biology class has done a lot more than we have, and now he just decides to throw this project at us? His teaching skills are poor, he's lucky I haven't complained to Principal Figgins about it." She huffed out.

"I agree with you on that one, Berry. Chang has been telling me things his class is learning, and we haven't even touched a textbook. Completely ridiculous." Santana said, focused on eating her lasagna. Rachel stared at her, not believing the girl actually cared about the amount their learning..or not learning, really. "I can feel your eyes on me, yes I do care about my grades. I don't want to be stuck in this cow town all of my life. I'm too hot to stay here." She said shrugging her shoulders. "Also, _where_ did you get this lasagna, because it's fucking delicious."

"I actually made it..it's vegan. Usually people don't particularly enjoy it, I'm glad you do. I could give you the recipe." Rachel said biting her lip before adding, "If you would like, I could teach you how to make it?"

"Sure, Berry, sounds great. So back to the project, we were given riboflavin, or vitamin B2 if you want to be technical. So we just gotta do some research on it and do an essay, a poster board with a bunch of facts and stuff, and then a diagram of it. We could.." Santana was cut off by her phone ringing.

_Incoming Call: Mami_

Santana quickly answered her phone, _"Hola mami...I'm working on a project for-No I'm not at Noah Puckerman's house...Rachel Berry...Si from Glee club...Yeah okay, see you soon."_ She hung up hastily, staring at Rachel apologetically. "I've gotta go, my mom got called into work and no one else is home to take care of my abuela. Sorry, Berry." She said as she gathered her books and laptop.

"Oh, not a problem, Santana! Thank you for coming and filling me in!" Rachel said walking Santana to the front door.

"Wanky." She smirked mischievously before walking out of the house and into her car, taking off down the street.

Rachel stood perplexed for the second time that day at something Santana Lopez said to her.

* * *

The next morning Rachel thankfully woke up when her alarm loudly went off, _5:00 am_ it read in the same angry red color as always. She got up and put her work out clothes on, moving towards the elliptical that sat in the corner of her bedroom. By the time she was done her work out, shower and hair, it was cutting close to 7. She quickly made her way to her closet, frowning when she realized she had forgotten to wash her skirts. Jeans would have to do for today, seeing as she had nothing else. She mentally kicked herself for forgetting, and made sure to write on her memo pad to wash her clothes later that day. She put on her favorite pair of dark washed skinny jeans and an off the shoulder oversized sweater and made her way down stairs, silently praying that no one would slushie her today. She made some toast, spreading some home made raspberry jelly on it and slipped on a pair of flats as she made her way out the door and into her car.

She arrived at school just in time, and managed to get a good parking spot, coincidentally right next to a certain cheerleader's shiny black Dodge Charger. Rachel quickly made her way into the school, heading straight for her locker. _Why on earth is everyone staring?_ She thought to herself while she was grabbing her books.

"Damn, you look good, Berry! I thought you only dressed like this for Temple related gatherings." Noah Puckerman exclaimed, leaning against the locker next to hers.

"Good morning, Noah. Yes, I usually reserve outfits as such for things other than school, thanks to your neanderthal friends. But today, unfortunately, all of my other clothes were dirty, and I forgot to wash them last night." Rachel said, shutting her locker and turning towards the boy.

"That's definitely not unfortunate, Jew babe. You should dress like this more often. You look hot." He said before turning and walking away.

Rachel smiled bashfully, "Thank you, Noah!" shaking her head at the thumbs up he gave her from down the hall. The ball rang and she hurriedly walked to her class, sighing gratefully she had managed to make it without being slushied so far. She noticed everyone was sitting in their project pairs, so she unwillingly made her way to the back of the room where she knew Santana preferred to sit.

When Santana walked into class, she noticed someone was already sitting at the lab bench she sat in, someone who was not her project partner. "Excuse me, I don't know if you're aware but that is my seat." She said in her best HBIC tone.

Rachel shot her head up right away, "Oh, Santana I'm so sorry, everyone else was sitting in their project partners..I just thought..I mean, unless you changed your mind about working with me. Sorry. I can move."

Santana stood with her jaw hanging wide open in disbelief. "Berry? What the hell, am I in some sort of twilight zone? Is this a joke?" She said, gesturing to the girl's outfit.

"Oh..all of my school clothes were dirty..I forgot to wash them last night." Rachel said looking down, feeling unsure of her choice of clothing.

"Well shit, maybe you should forget to wash your clothes all the time. You look half decent, Streissand, good job." The Latina said smirking, clapping her hands softly.

"Um, thanks.." Rachel said, "I think." She added before turning back to the math homework she forgot to do last night.

Santana sat down, filing her nails as she waited for the teacher to begin teaching. After twenty minutes of waiting, she realized the man wouldn't be teaching so she looked over to see what the diva was doing. "That answer is wrong, it should be _x=53_ not _x=52_." She said matter of factly.

Rachel huffed in annoyance, "I think I would know, Santana. I've done this problem four times already and keep getting 52 as my answer."

Santana narrowed her eyes, "Fine, don't listen to me. Have fun getting below perfect." She said as she went back to filing her nails and playing on her phone. She discreetly looked over at the other girl, and noticed her checking the back of the textbook. She laughed quietly, covering it up with a cough when she heard the girl begin to angrily sigh over and over again. "You messed up on your second line, that's why you're getting one below."

Sure enough, when she went back to her second line she did mess up. Once she fixed it she had gotten the right answer. "Thank you." She muttered embarrassed.

"No problem, dwarf." Santana said, going back to playing on her phone. After a few minutes, Santana could feel Rachel burning to ask her something. "What? Ask me. I can see the smoke coming out of your ears, midget."

Rachel blushed in embarrassment, "I just..How did you get that question right so quickly?"

Santana smirked at the shorter girl, "I'm more than just some dumb cheerleader stereotype, Berry." She said winking at Rachel. Before Rachel could reply, the bell rang and Santana was the first one out of the door.

* * *

The rest of Rachel's day was definitely one for the history books. She had managed to make it the entire day without being slushied, even being complimented a few times on her outfit choice. It was the first time in a long time that she walked into Glee feeling good about herself without having to sing out her feelings first. When she walked in, everyone stopped and stared at her finally seeing what everyone was talking about all day.

Brittany was the first to approach her and say something, "Wow, you look great! Don't tell other Rachel I said this but I already like you _way _better!" The blonde innocently told the girl.

"Um..Thanks, Brittany. I'll be sure not to tell her." Rachel said uncertainly. She looked around at everyone else before sighing, "My regular clothes were all dirty and I forgot to wash them, and my father's weren't home to remind me or do it for me..so this was all I had. I assure you if this is going to be such an issue for all of you I will be back to my regular clothes tomorrow." She sat down in her regular seat in the front row crossing her legs.

Before anyone else could speak Mr. Shuester walked into the room clapping his hands. "Okay guys! Let's get started with Regionals preparation! We did great at Sectionals, but we have to bring it for Regionals. Rachel, do you have any ideas?" He asked the girl.

Rachel shot her head up quickly, completely unprepared for that question, "I..uh I don't have anything, Mr. Shue..my apologies." If the Glee club wasn't staring before, she was sure they definitely were now.

The teacher looked surprised at the young girl's response, "Well..I never expected that answer from you, Rachel." He pursed his lips, "Does anyone else have any ideas?" He looked around the room casually, noticing no one with their hand up, "Okay, since no one has any ideas I guess you're all dismissed! Have a good day, guys."

Rachel sat dumbfounded in her seat, _did he not have any ideas himself? Probably not._ She shook her head and got up but was stopped by Santana.

"Wow Rachel Berry has no ideas for Glee club? I must _really_ be in a twilight zone." She said smirking.

Rachel sighed heavily, "Is that all, Santana? I do have a vocals class to be going to right now instead of standing here waiting for more insults."

Santana was taken aback for a second before recovering quickly, "Actually, dwarf, I was going to ask if you wanted to go over the project tonight. I'd like to get started so we can finish it and not have to rush closer to the due date."

"Oh, of course, Santana. I'm sorry for being rude, I've just have had a really long day. My class is over at 5, I'll text you when I get home?" Rachel questioned the girl as they walked out to the parking lot together, noticing their cars were parked right next to each other.

"Sounds good, Berry. Do you have anymore of that vegan lasagna?" Santana asked sheepishly as Rachel got into her car.

"No actually, we ate the rest of it last night." Rachel said, noticing the girl's sad expression she added, "But it doesn't take that long to make..we can make it tonight if you want. That way you learn how to make it and you get to eat it."

Santana nodded quickly as she unlocked her car, "Okay, yeah let's do that! See you later, Streissand."

* * *

Rachel finished her singing lesson and made it home by 5:30, she walked into her house and set her books down in the living room before texting Santana.

"_Hello Santana. I have just gotten home, you may come over whenever you are ready as long as you still would like to!"_

Her phone instantly buzzed with a new message.

"_good job berry ur learning to say less! is it cool if britts comes with? she came over and wanted to hang..u know no one can say no to her"_

Rachel bit her lip and thought about the other girl's question before replying.

"_Of course Brittany can come with you Santana! I have no problems with her. Though, do not feel pressured to come over still if you are with Brittany. We can work on this project another day :) We have a lot of time!"_

Rachel was barely able to set her phone down before the Latina's reply came through.

"_tbh berry im not rly coming over for the project..its mostly for the lasagna. c u in 5..i may have left the house already lol"_

Once again Rachel found herself perplexed with Santana Lopez.

* * *

Sure enough, five minutes later the door bell rang and when she opened the door there stood Santana and Brittany. "Come on in, guys. Santana you can put your bag in the living room..Though I'm going to assume we won't be doing our project tonight." Rachel teasingly said.

Santana grinned brightly at the shorter brunette, "Your assumptions are correct, Berry. Now..let's get started on that lasagna because I wants it now." She threw her bag onto the couch and followed the other two girls into the kitchen quickly.

"San, I thought you said Rachel lived in a cave with her little hobbit family? This doesn't look like a cave at all and I don't see anyone else here but her." Brittany said pouting at the other cheerleader.

Santana laughed loudly while Rachel shot her a glare that could give hers a run for her money. "I believe Santana was joking when she said that, Brittany. My dads are currently on vacation and Shelby only physically comes to check in in person if it's an emergency." She said smiling at the girl softly and handing some vegetables to Santana to chop up.

Santana pursed her lips, "I meant to ask you about that yesterday when I noticed the pictures on the walls. You keep in touch with Shelby?" She questioned as she chopped the vegetables Rachel handed her.

Rachel was busy preparing the sauce as she answered, "Um, yes. I've known her my entire life. She joins us on our annual Berry family vacations, and she spends Christmas and Thanksgiving with us also."

"But you don't call her mom, or spend time at her house?" Santana asked, sliding the chopped vegetables over to the girl.

"No. She's more like an aunt, or a way older sister to me really. She doesn't parent me, and I don't look at her as a parent. It used to bother me a bit, but I've noticed it's better this way. I can be more open with her without feeling weirdly about it..if that makes any sense to you." Rachel said, stirring the pot and putting the vegetables in the sauce.

Santana smiled softly at the girl, "I totally get it. I don't tell my mami everything, cause it would be too weird." Rachel smiled back at her, not breaking any eye contact they had going on.

Suddenly Brittany's voice broke them out of their trance. "Hey, Rach? Do you have a cat?" The blonde asked as she walked around the kitchen.

Rachel turned towards the blonde, a slight blush on her cheeks, "Um, yeah I do. Are you allergic? I'm so sorry, I should have warned you."

Brittany giggled, "No, silly! I love cats. I just have a cat sense, I knew you had one. Where is it? What's it's name?"

Rachel sighed in relief, "I'm not too sure, Brittany. She may be upstairs somewhere, feel free to go look! Her name is Barb..and before you ask, Santana, cause I know you will, no I actually did not name her."

Santana put her hands up in mock surrender, "I was going to ask no such thing, Berry. Way to be judgmental." She smirked and nudged the girl with her elbow. Brittany quickly went running out of the kitchen and up the stairs leaving the two brunettes by themselves.

Rachel was quiet for a second before turning to Santana, "You know, you're not so bad, Santana Lopez."

Santana grinned at the other girl, "You're not so bad either, Berry. Maybe we could work on being friends or something."

Rachel smiled big and bright at the cheerleader, "That sounds like a perfect idea! I'm glad we became partnered by fate."

Santana smirked, "Partnered by fate...I like it."

* * *

**A/N:** I'm not really sure how this was, so please let me know if you want more or not. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's** **Note**: I'd like to start off by saying how completely blown away I was at the response to the first chapter. I honestly never expected that outcome, so thank you to everyone who favorited, followed and reviewed the story! I'm probably going to start posting new chapters every Wednesday, but wanted to give you something today, as well as Wednesday. So here it is!

* * *

Brittany returned to the kitchen a little while later with a big fluffy gray cat in her arms, "I got lost under your bed and couldn't find my way out but then Shady here saved me."

Rachel looked up from her spot at the table, confusion written on her face. "I'm glad she saved you, Brittany, but her name isn't Shady, it's Barb."

Brittany sat on the chair opposite of Rachel and placed the cat on the table, "Well I'm sort of a cat whisperer, you know? And when she saved me I said 'thanks, Barb!', but she told me her name was Shady, so I'm going to respect her wishes so the cat Gods don't get me."

Rachel giggled softly at the blonde's speech, "I'm glad you were able to get her real name out of her, I've been trying for weeks." She said winking at the other girl and getting up to take the lasagna out of the oven placing it on the counter to cool.

"Nuh uh, no time for cooling, Berry. Hungry now." Santana said licking her lips as she stared hungrily at the dish.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "It's simply way too hot right now, Santana Lopez! It has to settle or else it'll be a big soupy mess."

"Use your hobbit powers to make it cool faster! Hobbits have powers right, San?" Brittany asked the Latina innocently.

Rachel glared hard at the brunette cheerleader once again, "Brittany..I am sorry to have to inform you of this, but I am not a hobbit. And also, I do not believe they possess any magic abilities. To quote the novel _'They do not possess any magic as you and I would understand it, unless the skill of disappearing quietly into the woods is considered magic.'_ So there." She said sticking her tongue out at Santana.

"Hold up, Berry! You've read _The Hobbit_? And can quote it? Maybe working on being friends is going to be easier than I thought." Santana said proudly smiling at blushing girl.

Before Rachel could reply, Brittany spoke up, "San, you and Rachel are going to be friends? Yay! Does this mean I get to be friends with her, too? Is that why you told everyone not to slushie her today? Ooh! Invite her to your Halloween party next weekend!" Brittany said as she excitedly sat clapping in her seat.

Santana stared horrified at her blonde best friend _I've got to work with her on using her filter..Be cool about this, Lopez_ she thought to herself before answering. "Yeah, Britts. The hobbit and I are working on being friends, and you can be friends with whoever you want, I told you to not let Q run your life." _Good work _she mentally praised herself. "Britts can you go grab my phone from my bag please?" She added.

"Yay, San! I'm glad you've finally gotten over yourself and made peace with Rach! Be right back!" The blonde said taking off out of the kitchen.

Santana sighed in relief as the other girl ran out but her relief was cut short once Rachel spoke up. "Santana.." She started but was soon cut off.

"Listen, Berry. Don't mention it, alright? I didn't want corn syrup and red dye number 2 messing up probably the only normal outfit you own. Also I didn't want any of those idiots discouraging you from dressing like that again, because today was the first day I didn't have to go home and stare at good clothes until my eyes bled to get your argyle and knee socks out of my mind."

Rachel smiled softly and grabbed the other girl's hand, "Thank you, Santana."

Santana gave the other girl a small smile and rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah, can we eat yet?"

Rachel laughed and went to check on the lasagna, "You're in luck, Lopez. Could you grab the plates from the cupboard over there?"

"Sure thing, midget. I know how hard things higher than four feet must be for you." Santana joked as she grabbed the plates.

Rachel rolled her eyes at the girl grinning slightly at the playful banter that came so easily between the two of them.

* * *

The next day Rachel awoke with her alarm feeling good, it was Friday after all. Getting up and changing into her work out clothes she begun her morning work out and shower ritual. Once she stepped out of the shower she blow dried and straightened her hair, did her make up and made her way to her closet to choose an outfit for the day. She settled on a vintage floral patterned dress that stopped mid-thigh, putting a brown belt around her waist and threw on a short jean jacket over top rolling the sleeves to her elbows. She put her favorite pair of 3-inch black booties on and made her way downstairs grabbing her bag and school books.

As she was making her way downstairs her phone buzzed in her hand.

_New Message From: Santana Lopez_

Rachel unlocked her phone quickly to see what the girl had said.

"_want to go to the mall aftr school? I have to find a halloween costume & so do u bc ur coming to my party lol"_

Rachel bit her lip, she promised Shelby she'd go over to help organize sheet music..but the woman would understand that she couldn't. She typed out a message to Santana as she put her bread in the toaster.

"_That sounds great Santana! You are right, I do need a costume if I am going to your Halloween party..Though I do not believe I ever received a proper invitation :P"_

She decided to text Shelby as well while she had her messages open.

"_Hey Shelby! I am not able to make it tonight, I am going to the mall with a friend to buy a Halloween costume. I can come over tomorrow maybe after dad and daddy get home?"_

Just as Rachel was spreading some jam on her toast, her phone buzzed violently.

_Incoming Call: Santana Lopez_

Rachel answered the phone quickly, "Hello?" _"Hey, Berry! Get your ass outside before we're late for school." _Rachel knit her eyebrows in confusion at the girl on the other end, "What? Outside where?" _"Outside your house! I'm picking you up. Vamos, midget we ain'ts gots all day!"_ Before Rachel could reply the line went dead and she heard a car honking outside.

Rachel made her way out and sure enough there sat Santana Lopez her her shiny black car. "Did you think I was kidding, midget? Come on, we gotta get Britts." Santana screamed from inside the car. Rachel made her way to the car, pausing before going for the back seat. "What are you doing? Get in the front!"

"Oh, I just thought you'd want Brittany in the front." Rachel said as she made her way to the front seat, buckling her seat belt.

Santana rolled her eyes, "I picked you up first, therefore, you get the front. Common sense, Berry. Lighten up!" She said, smacking the girl softly on the arm. "I'm digging your outfit by the way, good choice. I might ask to borrow that jacket one day."

Rachel smiled softly as she looked down at her outfit. _If I had known I'd get so many compliments on how I usually dress I'd have start dressing this way sooner_ she thought to herself. Once they arrived at Brittany's house, Santana was barely able to park before the girl ran into the car.

"Morning, San! Morning, Rach! I am so pumped for the mall today after school, I can't wait!" The blonde exclaimed excitedly. "Do you know what you're going to be, Rach? Me and San are going to be matching. Do you wanna match with us? We could totally find costumes that fit a tree."

Santana laughed in the front seat as Rachel stared at her confused, "Trio, Britts. And yeah, Berry, you should match with Britts and I. We were going to do Thing 1 and Thing 2, but we could find something better."

"Oh, I don't want to impo.." Rachel started before being cut off by the blonde.

"No, San! We can still do that! Except I have the best idea ever." Brittany sing-songed out grinning mischievously at the other cheerleader. "You and Rach can be Thing 1 and Thing 2, and I get to be the Cat in the Hat! Since you two are short and I'm super tall! Now everyone wins, I get to be a cat like I wanted and you said no, we keep our idea, and Rach gets to be apart of it! Yay!"

Rachel turned towards Santana, "Why do I get the feeling that this is one of those situations you were telling me about where we can't say no to Brittany, Thing 1?" She asked frowning slightly.

"Because it is, Thing 2." Santana said as she parked her car.

Brittany leaned forward placing her face between the two front seats, "This is going to be the _best_ Halloween party ever!" She whispered to them before getting out of the car and running off leaving the two brunettes alone.

Rachel and Santana walked into the school side by side before separating to go to their lockers. If people were staring yesterday, then they were definitely down right burning holes into Rachel's head today.

* * *

Rachel stood with her head buried in her locker, uncomfortable by all of the stares and whispers. _If this is what being famous is going to be like, I better get used to it_ she thought to herself. Suddenly the bell rang, forcing people to go to class and to stop staring at her. She made her way to biology and held her head up high as she walked in and went straight for the back despite everyone's obvious staring.

"You all best be looking back at your books before I stare at you and turn you to stone. I'm like Medusa." Santana spat as she strutted in the room headed for the back next to Rachel. Everyone was quick to advert their eyes back to their work, not wanting to mess with the Latina so early in the morning.

"Thank you, Santana. I have to say although I enjoy being the center of attention 90 percent of the time, this is just highly uncomfortable." Rachel said quietly.

Santana smiled at the girl softly, "No problem, midget. I'm going to show you I'm serious about working on being friends."

Rachel smiled but before she could reply her phone buzzed from its spot on the lab bench.

_New Message From: Shelby_

She held her breath as she opened the message, sure Shelby wasn't like a parent to her but she didn't want to disappoint the woman either.

"_No problem Rach! I could probably get some VA students to do it for me, don't sweat it. I'm actually coming over for dinner tomorrow night so I'll see you then. Good luck with your halloween shopping."_

Rachel sighed in relief, silently sending thanks that the woman was understanding and not upset.

"_Thanks for understanding Shelby, can't wait to see you tomorrow xo"_

"Who you texting, hobbit? A boy maybe? Is it JBI?" Santana joked with the girl.

Rachel shot her a disgusted look, "You are disgusting, Santana Lopez! I would never in my life text that boy. I'm texting Shelby, I was supposed to go over and organize sheet music, but I'd much rather go to the mall."

"Oh, are you sure? I mean organizing sheet music? Isn't that what turns you on most?" Santana asked smirking.

Rachel glared at the girl but before she could respond their teacher spoke up, "Ms. Berry, Ms. Lopez, am I going to have to separate you two? Copy the note please."

Rachel blushed in embarrassment as she quickly jotted down the note. Santana on the other hand narrowed her eyes at the man. "Are you serious? I've made my own notes this entire semester so far based off of the other biology class. Did you just wake up today and decide to start teaching?" She questioned the man.

Rachel shot her head up quickly, her eyes widening and her mouth hanging open at the girl's speech. It was clear the man was taken aback, not knowing what to say. "Santana.." She whispered harshly.

"What was that Ms. Berry? You agree with Ms. Lopez on this?" The teacher asked her, knowing fully well that she hadn't said anything of the sort.

"What? I..No!" Rachel sputtered out quickly.

"I think you've both earned yourself detention with me after school today. Please leave my classroom for now, maybe you can share your notes that you've made with Ms. Berry. How's that for teaching, Ms. Lopez?" The man asked smugly as the class snickered.

Santana shrunk back in her seat before collecting her books as the other brunette glared daggers at her. _I really need to work on my own filter, never mind Britts_ she thought sullenly to herself, getting up and walking out of the classroom, Rachel hot on her heels.

"I cannot _believe_ you, Santana Lopez! I've never been in trouble before, I didn't even do anything. How did I end up here? This is all _your_ fault. If I didn't get you as a partner I could have been saved. Oh, Barbara." Rachel lectured the other girl as she quickly followed her down the hall.

"God, Rachel, what happened to _partnered by fate_ and all that? Snap out of it! This isn't the end of the world, this is the beginning of the new Rachel! Do you want to be the know it all gleek for the rest of your high school career?" Santana asked her turning around, her hands on her hips.

Rachel stared at the girl with wide eyes, "You called me Rachel.._twice._ I think that's the first time you've done that.._ever_. Maybe you're right. I mean, I'm not going to be drastically different..but it felt good being kicked out for telling the truth. Even if I didn't really do anything..." She trailed off.

Santana smirked at the girl and wrapped her arm around her shoulders, "This is the start to a beautiful friendship, Rae."

Rachel grinned at the girl before furrowing her eyebrows, "Santana? What does one do in detention?" She asked as the Latina laughed loudly at her.

* * *

The rest of Rachel's day was pretty normal, except everyone had someone heard about her getting in trouble and having detention after school. People had kept coming up to her and congratulating her on becoming a bad ass. _If this is seriously how this school works, I am appalled by it _she thought to herself, feeling slightly guilty for getting in trouble now that the adrenaline from earlier had worn off.

She made her way into the classroom for detention, noticing Santana hadn't arrived yet, she decided to apologize to the man for her behavior. "Mr. Greene? I just wanted to apologize for my behavior this morning in class. I don't know what came over me. I'd also like to apologize on Santana's behalf..she just cares a lot about her education, believe it or not, she takes it very seriously. She's very bright, and doesn't mess around when it comes to learning." She paused for a second before continuing, "Where she was wrong to approach you about it in front of everyone else, I think you needed to hear it. Now I don't agree with the way she told you, I agree with.." She stopped talking immediately as the man put his hand up to silence her.

"Ms. Berry, I realize I haven't been the best teacher this semester and that is no one's fault but my very own. So if I'm going to punish you and Ms. Lopez for telling me, I might as well punish myself." The man said. "Tell Ms. Lopez you no longer have detention, you're dismissed, Ms. Berry." He added, walking out of the room.

Rachel stood shocked, not believing what she was just told. She walked out of the room grinning, and walked right into Santana. "Oh, Santana! I was just going to find you. We don't have detention anymore, isn't that great?" She asked.

"I heard your speech, Berry." Santana said and paused before continuing, "And thanks. For what you said."

Rachel smiled and looped her arm through the other girl's, "Like you said, 'I take care of my own'."

* * *

By the time they made it to the car, Brittany was already there sitting on the hood. "Oh thank God you guys are okay! I thought the aliens got you even though I promised to do whatever they wanted if they left you alone." She said getting up, hugging both of them tightly.

The two brunettes laughed at their crazy friend's antics. "Sorry, Britts. The hobbit and I got detention that Rae thankfully got us out of and I forgot to mention it." Santana said patting the girl on the back.

Brittany smiled brightly at the other cheerleader, "You called her Rae! I was worried you'd put up her defenses with her again, San, and scare her off. But you're doing just fine on your own. Good job!" She said as she turned towards Rachel and added, "You know, San's been wanting to be friends with you since like freshmen year, but Quinn always ruined it. I'm glad San's being her own awesome self this year, aren't you?"

Santana groaned internally, _yep, I definitely have to work with her on that filter _she thought. She looked at Rachel sheepishly and shrugged. Rachel smiled and turned to the blonde, "I'm very glad Santana is being herself this year, Brittany. And I'm glad she's letting me see just how truly awesome she is." The brunette said, glancing at Santana.

Santana gave the girl a big grin before rolling her eyes, "Okay okay enough with the mushy shit. Let's hit the mall." She said as she got in the car and waited for the other two to do the same before driving out of the parking lot. She glanced at Rachel who was sat in the passenger seat, singing happily along to the radio with Brittany, _I could get used to this _she thought happily before joining in with the other two girls in the car.

* * *

**A/N:** Let me know what you guys thought!


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** I want to again say thank you to everyone who has been following, favoriting and reviewing this story, it means a lot to me. This is the longest chapter so far, hopefully you all like it!

* * *

As soon as they arrived at the store, Brittany was once again the first one out of the car and inside the building, leaving the two brunettes alone. "We should probably hurry up and get in there, she's going to get lost." Santana said as she got out of the car, locking the doors.

"Santana, that's incredibly unlikely. Give Brittany some credit." Rachel said shoving the girl lightly.

Santana rolled her eyes, "Trust me, midget. It wouldn't be the first time..One time she got lost in a McDonald's..Don't ask me how cause I still.." She was cut off by her phone ringing.

_Incoming Call: Britts_

"I told you!" Santana screamed in victory as they walked into the shop before answering the phone. "Britts, where are you?" _"I'm not lost, San! I found the costumes. Walk passed the costumes for little people..not Rach, like little kids, and..oh wait, I'm so rude. Should we get her costume from the children's section, San? Cause what if they don't have her size where I am?" _Santana laughed loudly causing Rachel to stare at her. "I think adult sized costumes should be okay for her, Britts, don't worry..I'm sure Rae isn't the only gnome sized adult in the world." She spoke into the phone, sticking her tongue out at the other brunette walking beside her.

Rachel rolled her eyes and groaned, "Look, Santana! There's Brittany. Hey Brittany!" She said before walking over to the blonde quickly.

Santana hung up her phone and joined the other two girls in front of the costumes. "Well, what are we waiting for, let's try these bad boys on!" She said grabbing the costumes and pulling the girls toward the fitting rooms.

* * *

Four hours, three costumes and a whole lot of costume make-up later, the girls found themselves in Rachel's living room enjoying pizza and other foods along with a Scream movie marathon. They had decided to have a sleepover, and seeing as Rachel's dads wouldn't be back until the next day, her house had been the winning location.

"I am really excited for Halloween, San! Do you think people will like our costumes?" Brittany asked, reaching for a slice of pizza hungrily.

"Uh, probably, Britts. We always have the best costumes, and even I gotta say that this years is great." Santana said distractedly as she dangled her pepperoni in Rachel's face.

"You cut it out right now, Santana Lopez! Before I smack that pizza right out of your hand!" Rachel said in annoyance as the Latina continued laughing.

Brittany looked up at the girls from her spot on the floor, a slight pout forming on her face at how close they were becoming in such a short period of time. Sure, she had always wanted to be friends with Rachel, she just didn't know she would lose her best friend to the girl.

Santana glanced down at the blonde, noticing how upset she looked. "Hey, Rae? Do you have a sweater I could wear? Preferably one without an animal of some sort on it, I'm freezing." She asked, needing the girl to leave so she could talk to Brittany

"Sure, let me go find you one." Rachel said getting up, brushing the crumbs off of her yoga pants and walking out of the room. "Are you sure you don't want one with an animal? I have a fluffy kitten one I think would just look darling on you, Santana." She called out in a teasing way as she made her way up the stairs.

"Shut it, Berry before I go up there and burn every single one of those sweaters." Santana called out back to the girl before turning to Brittany. "Britts? What's wrong? And don't say nothing, I know you better than that." She asked the blonde full of concern.

Brittany sighed and sat up facing toward Santana. "Nothing..I mean there is something but it's stupid." She said as she looked down, tears pooling in her eyes.

Santana reached out and brushed the girl's hair out of her face, "Britts, come on. What's going on?" She asked softly.

Brittany took a deep breath before speaking, "It's just..You and Rachel are getting really close, and you've only been talking to her for like two days, San. I know you've never hated her or anything, I just feel left out. You're _my _best friend, I don't want to lose you. I love Rach, she's the best and she doesn't think I'm stupid like everyone else does and I know she doesn't really have a lot of friends, but I don't want to be forgotten about because of her." She said as she kept her head down, sniffling.

Santana cupped the blonde's face and forced her to look up so their eyes met. "Britts, you are my best friend in the whole world and nothing is going to change that ever. No one can come between me and you, you know that from how many times Q has tried. I like hanging out with Rachel, she's not that bad once you get to know her, but she's never going to take your place." Santana paused, thinking of her next words carefully before continuing. "You know when you got Daisy? And you only paid attention to her for the first few days of having her and Lord T was really jealous and scratched you every day?" She paused again, waiting for the blonde to nod in recognition. "Well..it's the same thing. Except in this case, Rachel is Daisy, and you're Lord T..just don't scratch me, kay?" She added laughing.

Brittany smiled and nodded at the girl before tackling her in a bone crushing hug. "I love you, San. Bestest friends always." She whispered into the other girl's ear.

Santana laughed and tickled the girl's sides until she got up, "Where the hell is Berry? She's been gone forever.." She said getting up and heading towards the stairs to find the girl.

Just as she reached the top of the stairs, Rachel emerged from her bedroom deep in conversation, and ran straight into Santana causing her to drop the phone and sweater she was carrying.

"Oh crap, you scared me! I didn't even see you, what are you doing up here?" Rachel asked bending to pick up the items.

"You came up here like a million hours ago, Berry! What if I had caught hypothermia down there waiting for you to come back with a sweater?"

Rachel rolled her eyes and handed Santana the black NYU sweater she had stolen from her daddy years ago. "That is highly unlikely, Santana seeing as it's 78 in the house. But I'm sorry, my dads called..Oh shoot!" She said suddenly, putting the phone to her ear. _"Daddy? Are you still there? Oh...Good! Sorry, I just received a heart attack...Um, Santana Lopez...Yeah that's the one...No daddy, that isn't necessary...Daddy! I can't talk to you when you're like this, put dad on the phone...Hi dad...No I did not break him...He's a bigger drama queen than I am." _Rachel said rolling her eyes as she went downstairs, Santana in front of her, as they rejoined the blonde in the living room. _"No, we're just watching movies...Uh huh she told me...Thank you, dad. Goodnight, see you tomorrow! Love you too, Bye!"_

Rachel looked up at the other girls, "Sorry, they were just calling to check up on me. Daddy wanted to know if he should call the police, Santana. He refuses to believe you're the only cheerleader, apart from Brittany of course, who has never slushied me or been vicious towards me." She said rolling her eyes.

Santana shrunk back in her seat, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "I didn't do anything to stop it either, Rae. He has every right to hate me. I can leave." She said, biting her lip.

Rachel sighed and patted the girl on the leg, "Santana, you never being cruel towards me is good enough. And you've stopped the slushies now, which I have no idea how you even pulled that off. You're a good friend, daddy will realize that." She said smiling as the other girl relaxed.

"So, which Mr. Berry is which?" Brittany asked changing the subject slightly.

"Well, daddy is Leroy and dad is Hiram...ethnicity being obvious here." Rachel responded as she happily chewed on a slice of pizza.

Santana groaned, "Of _course_ the Mr. Berry that hates me is the big, scary one."

Rachel laughed loudly, covering her mouth quickly as her eyes widened. Brittany and Santana stared at each other for a second before breaking out into laughter as well.

"What..was..that?" Santana asked between laughter.

"I..oh gosh. I've been trying to _stop_ laughing that way. I can't help it! It just happens." Rachel responded horrified.

"It's adorable, I love it." Brittany said as she curled up on the love seat with the cat and a blanket, passing out almost instantly.

Rachel glanced at the blonde, "How in the world is she asleep already? It's not even midnight yet!" She asked Santana, adjusting her blanket around her.

Santana laughed lightly, "Brittany uses so much energy all day long that as soon as her head hits a soft surface, she's out. That's why I always make sure she never lays on her bag during school." She said as she pulled her own blanket around herself tightly.

Rachel was silent for a moment, "Is that why I once saw her completely passed out standing up in the gym up against the mats on the wall?"

* * *

The next morning Rachel awoke bright and early to voices in the kitchen, squinting and looking around the room she was confused as to who they belonged to. Santana was dead to the world on the other end of the couch, and Brittany.._Brittany must be up, _she thought to herself before listening again. _Who is she talking to?_ She wondered before getting up and making her way into the kitchen.

Once she stepped into the kitchen she was met with her dad and daddy, happily chatting with the blonde dancer.

"You know, that makes a lot of sense. Any time we called her Barb the poor thing just went running for the hills." Hiram said nodding along with the girl.

Rachel laughed quietly before clearing her throat, making her presence known. "Daddy, dad! What are you guys doing home so early? I thought your flight didn't get in until later. How were your meetings?" She asked as she hugged Leroy tightly.

"Oh, Star, I swear your daddy and I are going to go out of business one of these days. No one wants a wedding planner anymore." Hiram said dramatically.

Leroy rolled his eyes and glanced down at his daughter, "No, your dad is going to go out of business all on his own. I'm a lawyer before I'm a wedding planner. Just like he should go back to the force and quit this wedding business before it crumbles." He said as he sat at the table and opened the newspaper.

Hiram shot his husband a horrified look, "You take that back. You know this business means more to me than the force ever did. I will _not_ back down. I am going to give wedding planning a comeback!" Hiram said as he finished making breakfast.

Brittany giggled from her spot at the table, "Rachie your dads are the best! I wish I could come over all the time!"

Hiram gasped dramatically, "Did you hear that, Leroy? Our little Star is making friends! Brittany you can come over whenever you like, it isn't every day Rachela has friends over." He said smiling at the girl, oblivious to his daughter shooting daggers in his direction.

Before anyone could say anything else, Santana walked into the kitchen, her blanket draped over her shoulders and thick rimmed black glasses planted firmly on her face. She sat at the table across from Leroy and yawned big.

"Good morning, Santana!" Rachel said brightly, deflating slightly when the brunette cheerleader made no acknowledgment toward her or anyone else.

Brittany giggled from her spot, knowing something the others didn't, "Mr. H, could I get a cup of coffee please?" She asked, batting her eyelashes at the man.

"Of course you may, Brittany! I told you, just Hiram is fine, none of this mister stuff, understood?" He asked her, mocking anger as he placed the coffee in front of her.

Brittany nodded quickly before grabbing the mug, "Yes, sir! I mean, Yes, Hiram!" She said sheepishly. The three Berrys watched the blonde as she got up from her seat walking over to Santana, she placed the mug right under the Latina's nose and waited for the smell to rise up into her nostrils.

Suddenly the girl shot up as if she was being electrocuted, "No, those are a friend's, honest, mami!" she said with a start before blushing. "I..uh, sorry. I'm not a good morning person usually." She muttered embarrassed.

Leroy cleared his throat, "You must be Santana Lopez. I've heard a lot about you, I'm Leroy. I see you're wearing New England Patriot sweats. You a fan?" He asked the girl.

Santana sipped on her coffee as she looked at the man across from her. "Um, yes sir. The Patriots are my favorite team." She said, intimidated by the man.

Leroy nodded slowly squinting his eyes at the girl, "But we live in Ohio, is our team not good enough for you?" He asked.

Santana's eyes widened, her hands shaking not knowing how to answer. Suddenly Rachel stepped in, "Daddy! You stop it right now! You _love_ the Patriots! The entire man cave in the basement is all Patriots items. Apologize to Santana." Rachel said firmly, putting her hands on her hips after placing a plate of waffles on the table.

Leroy grinned at his husband, who was standing behind Rachel with a shocked expression on his face at the girl's outburst, _"Watch out."_ The Jewish man mouthed at him. "Oh, Star. I was just teasing Santana. It was all in good fun, Santana knows that, right Santana?" He asked the Latina, watching as she piled waffles on her plate, silently laughing to himself.

Santana quickly nodded as she licked her lips, pouring blueberry syrup all over her food, "Yeah, he was just messing around, Rae don't sweat it." She said distractedly, digging into her breakfast.

Leroy laughed as the taller brunette spit the food out almost as quickly as it went into her mouth, causing the girl to look up at him quickly. He leaned across the table getting closer to the girl, "Those are vegan. They taste like cardboard in my opinion. Here take two of mine." He whispered so his husband and daughter wouldn't hear as he slid some regular waffles onto her plate.

Santana tentatively took a bite, sighing in relief at the taste. "So much better, thanks, Mr.B. This one doesn't taste like a shoebox." She said quietly, not realizing Hiram was standing right behind her.

The man narrowed his eyes at her, _"I prefer the blonde."_ he mouthed to Leroy from his spot behind the girl before he took a seat at the head of the table.

Leroy rolled his eyes, his husband always the dramatic one. "Call me Leroy, Santana. Or whatever else you come up with, Mr. B gets confusing." He said smiling before turning toward his daughter. "Shelby told us you abandoned her for Halloween shopping. How did that go?" He asked, knowing he'd get a rise out of the girl.

Rachel gasped dramatically as she cut into her waffle, "I did _not_ abandon her. That woman is so dramatic, I swear it. I blame her and dad for my personality, really." She said rolling her eyes.

"Oh, Star there is nothing wrong with being like me. At least you're not like your daddy, sarcastic and unsupportive of dreams. _Dreams_, Leroy!" Hiram said, still exasperated at the man about his wedding planning business.

Santana turned her attention to the tiny diva, eyes widening, "It's so freaky, you're exactly like him." She said, receiving another glare from the Jewish man.

Leroy spoke up before his husband could, "Actually, the more you get to know Rachel, you'll realize she's more like me than Hiram thankfully. The dramatics go away unless she's mad, isn't that right, Star?" He asked grinning at his daughter.

Rachel flicked a piece of food at the man, smirking when it hit him in the nose and landed on his shirt. "Oops, sorry, daddy. It slipped." She said innocently, getting up to put her dishes in the sink, Santana and Brittany following suit.

"Rachel, we have guests! Be more mindful next time. This is why Martha Stewart or Oprah will never come to our house, I live with animals!" Hiram said huffing.

"Sorry, dad. I promise when Martha comes I'll be more respectful." She teased as she walked out of the room, Santana snorting into her coffee mug as she leaned on the kitchen counter.

Leroy grinned at his husband, "Told you she was more like me than you." He said before turning his attention towards Santana. "Your father is Dr. Lopez down at Lima Memorial, right?" He asked.

Santana nodded, putting her mug into the sink before turning the water on to wash the dishes. "Um yeah, he's the chief of staff. My mother also works there, but she's not a doctor. She's the head nurse." She said as she washed the dishes.

"You don't have to wash those, Rachel should have put them in the dishwasher before she disappeared. But chief of staff, he must be a busy guy. And your mother also." Leroy said.

Santana blushed and opened the dishwasher, placing the dishes inside. "I didn't realize you had one until just now. But yeah, he's pretty busy. I barely see him or my mom, I'm usually home alone, apart from my abuela. But she's really sick lately, so she's been in and out of the hospital. It's been nice being here hanging out with Rae for the past few days." She said as she finished up with the dishes.

Leroy frowned, yeah he had just left his daughter alone for the week, but he and his husband never usually went away at the same time. They always made sure Rachel wasn't home alone. "You may come over whenever you want, Santana. I could use a buddy who isn't so dramatic and knows what's going on during a game." He said grinning at the girl.

Santana smiled and nodded, "Will do, thanks!" She paused before walking out of the room. "I just want you both to know that I'm sorry I never did anything before, but I am now and I hope it's not too late to earn your acceptance." She said as she walked out, knowing the men would know what she meant.

Leroy looked over at his husband, "I was wrong about her, I like her." He said grinning.

Hiram rolled his eyes, "That girl is just like you, no wonder you like her. Now, help me come up with a way to bring the business back up!" He said as he got out a pen and paper to brainstorm ideas, causing Leroy to groan.

* * *

Upstairs the girls were in Rachel's room going through her things as she sat on the bed with her arms crossed tightly, a pout on her face. "I like that sweater, Santana. It was a gift from my grandmother!" Rachel shrieked as the Latina threw it into a garbage bag.

"Wait, San! I like that sweater, too! It has a duck on it." Brittany said, getting the sweater out of the bag. "Can I have it, Rach?" She asked, holding it to her chest tightly.

Rachel stared at the girls with her jaw dropped open, but before she could speak Santana cut it. "Yeah, Britts you can have it! We just have to get rid of all of these so she can never wear them again..._ever_." She said, throwing more clothes out of Rachel's closet.

Brittany jumped up suddenly, "Oh! I have to go! I have dance today, I just remembered. Bye, San! Bye, Rachie!" She said, hugging the girls tightly.

"Do you need a ride, Britts?" Santana asked the blonde who was collecting her things quickly.

"Oh, no my mom is outside. I completely forgot until I just saw her out there. I think my phone is dead. Bye!" Brittany said as she walked out of Rachel's room.

"So...do you want to actually start working on our project, or do you need to go home also?" Rachel asked, tapping her fingers on her bed.

"Nah, I don't have anywhere to be, Berry. Let's get started on the project." Santana said, grabbing Rachel's laptop and turning it on. "Your picture is the Glee club? Gross why, everyone in there sucks. Especially Mercedes, I cannot stand that girl. I swear the other day when you told Shuester you had no ideas she looked way too pleased, I wanted to smack her. Which reminds me, why'd you tell him you have no ideas? I think everyone in the school knows you have plenty of.." Santana rambled on before looking up at a giggling Rachel with wide eyes.

"Huh, who knew you were a blabbermouth? And I thought _I _talked a lot." She teased the cheerleader. "But I knew no matter what I said, someone would have a problem with it, and I had a singing lesson to be going to that day..and I knew he wouldn't have any ideas and we'd get let out early. I'm not proud of letting the team down, but I had other arrangements." She added sheepishly.

Santana stared at the girl in mock shock, "My, my, Rachel Berry, you may be more bad ass than I originally thought." She said smirking.

Rachel playfully shoved the other girl, "Yeah, whatever, Lopez. Let's get to work." She said as she took the laptop and began researching.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, "Come in!" Rachel said loudly, looking up from her work slightly as Hiram walked in.

"Star, your daddy and I have got to run to the store to get groceries for dinner tonight, would you like to come?" He asked hopefully, having missed his daughter greatly all week.

"Santana and I actually have to work on this project today, dad. You and daddy have fun..No more arguments in the middle of the produce section over turnips, okay? Last time people filmed it and put it online." Rachel said, pouting at the man.

Hiram paused before nodding and walking out of the room dejectedly.

* * *

Around 5pm Hiram made his way up to his daughter's room, expecting her to be alone. He was surprised to see Santana glasses still on her face buried into a science book.

"Aha! See, Rae! I _told_ you you were wrong. It says right here; Rachel Barbara Berry is wrong, and Santana Diabla Lopez is right, there are no further questions or buts, just that you are wrong, and I am right." Santana said triumphantly.

Hiram could see his daughter rolling her eyes and before she could reply he cut it, "Star, Shelby has just arrived, you should go say hello. Dinner will be soon, we're having spicy tofu stir-fry, your favorite. Get ready for dinner soon, alright?" He said, not waiting for a reply from the girl before making his way back downstairs.

"I thought that was your nice dad.." Santana said as the man walked out.

Rachel laughed, "He is, he just hasn't warmed up to you yet. Daddy absolutely adores you though, you and him are quite alike." She said as she went to her closet to find something acceptable for dinner.

"Why are you changing, aren't you having dinner here at home?" Santana asked confused as she watched the girl pull out outfits.

"Yes but when dad gets something in his mind, such as family dinners when he goes all out, there is no changing his mind. Dress up or don't come to dinner is the policy here. Daddy has tried to not come to dinner a few times, it hasn't worked." Rachel said, tossing the other girl a dress. "Here, put this on, it should fit you."

Santana stared down at the dress in confusion, "Why am I dressing up? Your dad didn't invite me to stay for dinner..and I feel as if this dinner is invite only." She said, placing the dress on the bed.

"Oh please, Santana. Like daddy is going to let you walk out of the house as we're about to have dinner. Put the dress on, it's fine." Rachel said as she disappeared into the bathroom to change.

Santana stared at the red dress warily before complying and putting it on, it was shorter on her than it would be on Rachel, and definitely showed more cleavage on her than on Rachel, but it was a good fit. "Hey, Rae! I might have to borrow this one night." She called out to the girl as she stared at herself in the mirror, fluffing her hair out.

Rachel emerged from the bathroom, wearing a black lace dress with ¾ length sleeves, her hair perfectly coiffed and framed around her face. "You look great! Come on, let's go downstairs before dad comes back up here." She said, grabbing Santana and dragging her downstairs.

* * *

"Are you walking Santana out, Rachela?" Hiram hopefully asked his daughter as the two girls made their way into the kitchen.

Leroy rolled his eyes behind his husband, "Nonsense, Hiram! Santana is joining us for dinner, aren't you? I would hope so." He said as he guided Santana toward the dining room, pulling out a seat for her giving her no choice to leave even if she wanted.

"Yeah, I'm staying. If vegan stir-fry is as good as vegan lasagna then I'd be an idiot to leave." Santana said, grinning at Rachel as the girl sat beside her.

"Santana, this is Shelby, Shelby this is my friend Santana." Rachel said, introducing the cheerleader to her biological mother.

Santana smiled at the woman, "It's really nice to meet you, Shelby. It's almost freaky how alike you and Rachel look." Santana said outstanded.

Shelby laughed soundly, "We get that a lot, believe it or not. I've always told Rach that she could take my ID and pull it off anywhere as herself. Hiram absolutely hates it."

"Well that's because you're encouraging my daughter to have foul behavior, Shelby. Quit putting ideas into her head!" Hiram half jokingly said.

Santana noticed that Leroy and Shelby both simultaneously rolled their eyes and shook their heads slightly at the man. It was freaky to see how Rachel had so much of all three adults rolled into her personality. _It works for her, though_ she thought to herself, blushing slightly at her thought, not knowing where it came from.

"So, Santana, you're in glee club with Rachel? How do you like it? Rachel complains all the time about Mr. Shuester. I'd like to hear someone else's opinion on the man." Shelby said intrigued.

"Yeah, I am. And I'm probably not the right person to give my opinion on Shuester, I've hated the man ever since he yelled at me for not participating in Spanish class...I speak it fluently, what he teaches in there might actually melt my brain." Santana said in annoyance. "I also think Rachel is the reason the club is actually still up and running. I don't even remember the last time he came up with an idea." She added, taking a sip of her water.

"I never liked that man either, Santana. Something about him just angers me to the bone, especially the way he treats Rachel, and let's everyone else in the club treat her. For example, that Mercedes girl, oh how I wish I could trade places with Rachel one day just to knock that girl out." Leroy said much to his husbands displeasure.

"Now, Leroy, that's no way to speak at the dinner table. Don't encourage the girl's dislike for the man, I am sure he is a fine teacher." Hiram said reprimanding the man.

"Oh no, dad, that man is a poor excuse for a teacher. I wish we had a new coach for Glee club also, he's really holding us back. Being the captain is really exhausting when I have to do literally _all_ the work and no one wants to be my co-captain." Rachel said as she took a bite of her dinner.

Leroy pondered his daughter's words for a moment before speaking up, "Well, if Santana feels the same way you do, why don't you elect her as your co-captain?" He asked, staring at Santana as he spoke.

Santana choked on the food she was eating as she heard his words, "That's probably a bad idea, LB. Between Rachel and I, we'd probably murder half the people in the club. She may be able to put up with it, but I don't put up with shit like that." She said, ignoring the glare Hiram was sending her way for her choice of language.

Rachel turned to Santana quickly, "That's what we need, Tana! This is a _great_ idea! With my strong leadership and your inability to take sh..backtalk from anyone, we'd lead the Glee club to a National win!" She exclaimed excitedly, bouncing in her seat.

Santana glanced around the room at the three adults and bit her lip, "I mean..I _guess_ it could work." She said, smiling softly. _What have I just agreed to_ she thought, seeing the bright smile on Rachel's face. Monday would definitely be an interesting day.

* * *

**A/N:** So there you have it, be sure to review if you want more or not! I was unsure of where this story was going, but I have a pretty good idea now, and hopefully you all enjoy where I take it! Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! Also to those who followed and favorited. I apologize to those of you who have complained about Brittany, I'll try to make her a bit better. This is my first story though, so I'm just learning what you guys like and don't like! Either way, the feedback for this story has been great, so thank you all. I know it's not Wednesday, but I finished this chapter early and if I didn't post it it was going to be too much for one chapter, so here you go!

* * *

The rest of the weekend seemed to pass by quickly, Santana had slept over Saturday after dinner, and the two spent most of Sunday working on their project before Santana went home. The girls were both equally surprised and content with how nicely their friendship was forming and moving forward.

Rachel pulled into the school parking lot Monday morning, a bright smile on her face as she got out of her car. This was the first day in her entire high school career where she actually felt happy and not worried to be at school.

"Hey, Jew babe. Lookin' good." Puck said as he leaned on her car, smirking.

"Good morning, Noah! Thank you." Rachel responded bashfully, looking down at her tight fit black jeans, white flowy tank top and light pink cardigan.

"No problem, princess. Where's Lopez? You two have been joined at the hip lately, I haven't seen her all weekend if you know what I mean." Puck said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows.

Rachel crinkled her nose in disgust, "You are disgusting, Noah! Santana had Cheerios practice this morning, so she's probably in the locker room." She said as she walked into the school to her locker, Puck at her side.

"You and Lopez as friends...so weird, but it works. You going to her party on Friday?" Puck asked, leaning up against the lockers as Rachel grabbed her books.

"Yes, her, Brittany and I have quite the costumes. It should be exciting! I can't wait! My first high school party." Rachel said excitedly, grinning big at Puck.

Before Puck could respond, Santana came and joined the pair, "Sup, Puckerman? Nice choice in clothes today, Rae. I approve." She said grinning.

"Where ya been, Lopez? I missed you this weekend." Puck side smirking at the girl.

Santana rolled her eyes, "Like you didn't find someone else to bury your dick in. I was with Berry most of my weekend." She said as they walked down the hall.

"Santana, you could have gone to spend time with Noah! I didn't force you to stay." Rachel said defensively.

"Shut it, Berry. I would rather spend my time hanging out with you and Britts, trust me." She said, smirking at an offended looking Puck.

"Ouch, Lopez. I thought we had something special." Puck said, his hand over his heart.

The bell rang loudly throughout the hall, "Oops, guess you'll never know if I think the same way. Later, Fuckerman." Santana said laughing as she walked with Rachel into their classroom.

* * *

After the speech their teacher gave on Friday, he didn't seem to be changing his ways whatsoever. The entire period the girls found themselves talking and doing homework from other classes instead of actually learning, much to their annoyance.

As class ended, Santana turned to Rachel, "Have lunch with me and Britts today? We'll meet you at your locker." She said leaving the classroom, not giving the diva a chance to reply.

The rest of Rachel's morning was pretty normal, people were finally starting to not be surprised with the clothes she was wearing, even receiving some compliments. She was worried about lunch, knowing Santana and Brittany sat with the rest of the Cheerios, she definitely wasn't looking forward to it. The bell rang suddenly, _well, this is it_ Rachel thought as she made her way out of her classroom.

As she was walking to her locker to meet Santana and Brittany, she was hit with two large cups of cherry slushie, soaking her from head to toe. She stood shocked in her place, her mouth hanging open in shock, no had dared going against Santana's word since she told everyone to back off.

Rachel wiped her eyes out quickly and was met with the perpetrator, none other than one Quinn Fabray. "What, manhands? You think just because _Santana_ told everyone to back off it would work? She's not the head cheerleader, Yentl. I am, and I don't take orders from anyone. Take that as your warning." Quinn said snidely as she sauntered off, leaving Rachel standing in the middle of the hallway dripping.

Rachel stood frozen in shock for a few moments before storming into the bathroom. She washed her face and rinsed her hair out as best she could, _no one makes a fool of Rachel Berry, not anymore_ she thought angrily.

As Rachel was walking to her locker she remembered she was supposed to meet Santana and Brittany there, and sure enough they were still waiting for her when she got there, Santana looking angrier and angrier the closer she got. "Look, Santana I'm sorry I made you wait-" She started but was cut off by the angry Latina.

"What the fuck happened? You better have spilled on yourself because everyone knows better than to go against me." Santana seethed.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Apparently not everyone. It's fine, Tana..I'd really like to take care of it myself, kay?" She said softly, placing her hand on the Latinas.

Santana sighed, "Fine, Rae. But I will find out who did it." She said firmly.

"San has a psychic Mexican third eye you know." Brittany said, walking ahead of the two brunettes.

* * *

The three girls sat down at the Cheerios table, ignoring the looks the rest of the squad was giving them. "What is manhands Berry doing at our table, Lopez?" Quinn questioned in her cold tone.

"She's eating, Fabray. You should try it, I hear childbirth really takes a toll on women and frankly you look dead." Santana said dismissively, digging into her salad.

"San don't be rude, it's cause she has no emotions." Brittany said innocently, eating her PB&J.

Santana snorted and smirked at the blonde, "Does anyone else have any complaints?" She questioned, glaring around at everyone at the table.

Quinn glared at her squad as they put their heads down, not wanting to go against either girls. "You won't be smirking when I put you at the bottom of the pyramid, Lopez." Quinn said angrily.

Santana rolled her eyes, "Okay, Q. I'd like to see you try that. Next to Britts, I'm the next best on the team, coach would never allow that."

Quinn glared at her former friend, "_I'm_ the head cheerleader, what _I_ say goes. And I think you should cut the attitude out before you find yourself on the bottom of the social ladder with your new BFF."

The table went silent, the squad staring between the two girls with wide eyes. Santana breathed in deep and got up quickly, her hands slamming on the table. Before she could speak, Sue came into the cafeteria, "Lopez, Fabray! My office _now_." She yelled at them.

Santana closed her eyes tightly, sending Rachel and Brittany an apologetic smile. She followed Sue and Quinn out of the cafeteria, ignoring the looks from everyone in the room.

Rachel bit her lip nervously, "Do you think Santana is going to get kicked off the squad?" She asked the blonde.

Brittany shook her head, "No way, Santana is really good. She has offers from schools already for cheer leading scholarships, which is more than Quinn has. Coach would be dumb to kick her off."

Rachel sat quietly eating her pasta salad as Brittany chatted with some Cheerios contemplating how to handle Quinn, and how to make sure Santana didn't find out it was Quinn that slushied her.

* * *

As soon as Sue closed the door to her office, she turned her full attention to Santana, "What's your angle with Rachel Berry, sandbags? Are you going to crush her and kill that club from the inside with it's leader?" She questioned, leaning back in her chair.

Santana shook her head, "No, coach. I am genuinely friends with Berry, and I'm not going to stop just because Fabray doesn't like it, or you for that matter. And if that gets me kicked off the squad, so be it." She said, crossing her arms tightly, her face blank.

Quinn stared at her shocked, "You'd rather be friends with treasure trail than be on the squad?" She asked dumbfounded.

Santana nodded, her face still blank. Sue smirked at the Latina's loyalty, "Get the hell outta here, Lopez. And don't worry about preggers here, she's just hormonal today. Next time you two argue like that in front of the entire school, there will be hell to pay." Sue said.

Santana left quickly and Sue turned back to Quinn, "I take it she doesn't know about you undermining her word today. If she did, you and I both know you'd be ripped to shreds. Why'd you do it?" She asked, staring hard at the blonde.

Quinn glared at the older woman, "Lopez isn't the head cheerleader, coach. I am, and no one gives me rules. I _make_ the rules in this place." She said coolly.

Sue smirked, "Oh, Q. You really have no idea how this school works, do you? You may be head cheerleader, but Lopez has this place wrapped around her pinky. I'd watch out if I were you, and I don't mean from sandbags." Sue said before opening her journal, "Now get the hell out of my office." She added, Quinn getting up and storming out of the office quickly.

* * *

Santana walked back into the cafeteria with her head held high, going right over to Rachel, noticing Brittany was nowhere in sight. "Sorry, Sue just wanted to see what my angle with you was, and to lecture me about arguing in public. Looks bad on the squad, what did I miss?" She said, finding Brittany across the cafeteria with Puck and Artie and waving at her.

Rachel smiled in relief, "I'm glad you weren't kicked off the squad, I was really worried you would be." She said, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

Santana laughed soundly, "Fuck no, Rae, I'm the damn best on that squad." She said grinning, "Come on, I'll walk with you to your class cause it's right next to mine." She added as the bell rang, looping her arm through the other girl's.

"Thanks, Tana. Hey, are you excited for Glee club today? I am announcing your co-captaincy today." Rachel said excitedly.

Santana groaned internally, "Uh, I don't know. What if I was like, a silent partner?" She asked hopefully.

Rachel looked at her confused, "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, what if we don't tell anyone I'm co-captain? Instead, you just take the lead, and if anyone says anything you know I've got your back." Santana said, hoping the girl would go for it.

Rachel took her arm out of Santana's and looked at her, a pout on her face, "Look, if you don't want to, it's fine, Santana. It really doesn't matter. I understand what your rep means to you, and being my friend is probably hard enough, it's fine." She said sadly, as she walked into her classroom.

_Ugh, crap. Why does making her so sad make me feel like shit? _She thought to herself as she grabbed the smaller girl's arm pulling her back. "I'm sorry, okay? I'll be co-captain, you can tell everyone. I'm sorry I'm caught up in myself sometimes, I'm working on it." She said, smiling softly.

Rachel hugged the girl tightly, "Thank you, Santana! Thank you so much, I promise it won't be bad." She said giving the girl a bright smile before going into her class.

_Crap, _she thought to herself sighing. She really was doubting how being co-captain would work, but something about making Rachel Berry smile gave her butterflies.

* * *

Santana felt herself dragging her feet as she walked to Glee club, she was nervous to see how this entire situation would all play out. She took a deep breath as she walked through the door, Rachel sat front and center like always, the rest of the club spread around.

"Okay, guys! Let's get started, I've come up with some great ideas and want to get started immediately." Mr. Shue said as he walked into the room. Noticing Rachel with her hand up he turned his attention to the girl, "Yes, Rachel?" He asked.

"Well, I have an announcement if that's okay?" Rachel started, walking up to the front of the room.

"No one cares, Berry! Sit your white ass down so we can get started with practice." Mercedes said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I just have a small announcement and then I'll be done, so you can calm down, Mercedes." Rachel said, a slight edge in her voice.

"Oh hell no, Berry! You don't get to go up there and flap your gums about how you want all the solos while we all sit here and keep our mouths shut." Mercedes said, getting up.

Santana had heard enough, it was in that moment that she realized just how much Rachel needed her to do this. "That's it, Wheezy. Berry wasn't going to demand all the solos, maybe if _you_ shut _your_ mouth every once in a while, you would know what was going on. She was going to announce that _I_, Santana Lopez, have accepted position of Glee club co-captain. And if anyone has a problem with that, or anything else that goes on in here, you can take it up with _me_. Understood?" She seethed out, glaring around at everyone as she joined Rachel up at the front.

Rachel turned to her, a big smile on her face. "Thank you, Tana. Honestly." She whispered.

Santana rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah, midget." She whispered back before staring back at the club, daring them to say something. "Anyone have anything to say?" She asked.

The club looked around at each other, all too afraid to say something. "Hot _damn_, Lopez! Congrats on your captaincy, now we have two hot babes running the show." Puck said winking at the two brunettes causing them to laugh.

Santana turned back to Mercedes before sitting down, "Also, Wheezy, if you paid any attention to Rachel, or if you weren't so rude, you would know Rachel has a list prepared with solos for everyone. And numbers that include everyone's voices, not just her own. So _maybe_ instead of being ignorant, you should let your captain speak." She spat at the girl.

"Okay guys, that's enough. Let's get to work, maybe we can go over your ideas another day, Rachel." The man said, ushering the girls back to their seats faster.

"So...Journey! We could do a totally different medley with new songs, it'll be great!" Mr. Shue said excitedly.

Rachel groaned loud in her seat, Santana's hand on her shoulder the only thing keeping her from storming out of the room.

* * *

Practice ended soon after it started, and Rachel was the first one out of the room, Santana right beside her, much to the surprise of everyone else. "I cannot _believe_ that man! He tells me to save my ideas, _good_ ideas for 'another day' and all he can come up with in four days is a _Journey_ medley? Journey! Journey, Santana! I have half a mind to quit this club now before looking like a fool when we lose again." She said angrily, slamming her locker shut and storming out to the parking lot.

Santana stared after the girl in shock for a few seconds before chasing after her, "Rae, wait! Jeez you move fast for a midget. Look, now that we're co-captains we're going to get this club back on the right track, even if I have to get Coach to some how help, okay? I promise." Santana said sincerely.

Rachel leaned up against her car, "Okay, Tana. If you say so." She said, more relaxed than before.

Santana smirked, "I do say so. Now quit your worrying, Berry, it's unbecoming of you."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Daddy wanted me to ask you if you were coming to dinner tonight, supposedly the Patriots are playing or something. I tune out when he talks sports, much like he tunes out when I talk Broadway."

Santana laughed softly, "The game was last night, Rae. But yeah I'll totally come over, hopefully your dad doesn't crucify me or something, I'm positive he hates me." She said frowning.

"Dad doesn't hate you, I told you that. You're just a lot like daddy, which I think is good cause when you're over it balances out the house." Rachel said, blushing hard when she thought about what she said.

"I'll text you when I'm on my way?" Santana asked, ignoring what the girl had said for both of their sakes.

Rachel smiled, "Sounds good! Bye, Tana!" She said, getting into her car and driving off.

_What am I doing? _Santana thought, getting into her own car and driving home.

* * *

"Star, is Santana coming over for dinner?" Hiram asked as he stood over the stove, glancing at his daughter.

Rachel sat at the table, books spread all over it. "I'm not sure, dad. She hasn't said anything." Rachel said looking up, a small frown on her face.

Glancing at the clock, Hiram noticed it was only 5:30. "Well, your daddy isn't home yet anyways so she still has time before dinner starts." He said as he placed his home made dinner rolls on the counter to cool.

"Yeah, I guess." Rachel said, going back to her books she tried to think if she had said something wrong to the Latina.

Suddenly her daddy's booming laugh sounded throughout the house as he made his way into the kitchen. "Look who I found pacing around outside." Leroy said, pushing an embarrassed Santana inside.

Rachel looked up from her books, sending the girl a bright smile. "Santana! I didn't think you were coming, why didn't you text me?" She asked, noticing the girl was changed out of her Cheerios uniform, and was instead now wearing torn jeans and a gray hoodie.

Santana gave the girl a small smile back as she sat down warily, "Sorry, Rae. I guess I forgot." She said biting her lip. "What's for dinner?" She asked, changing the subject.

Rachel stood, packing up her books and placing her bag on the ground against the wall. "Earth soup! It's positively my favorite ever." She said excitedly, oblivious to Santana's disgusted face.

Leroy chuckled, "I'm making myself a steak, if you want I can make you one also, Santana. Earth soup tastes like it sounds."

Santana sighed in relief, "Sounds good, LB. Rae said something about a game, did you record yesterday's?" She asked turning her attention to the man.

"I did, you went home before it was over and I was hoping we could finish it today." Leroy said, grabbing the steaks out of the fridge to season them.

"Yeah, I'd like that. I didn't get around to watching the rest yesterday cause both of my parents were actually home so we had dinner together before they went back to work." Santana said looking down, a deep frown on her face.

Rachel bit her lip, "How was work, daddy?" She asked, changing the subject.

Leroy smiled softly at his daughter, _always worrying about others_ he thought. "It was alright, Star. Kinda slow today cause I'm just preparing for a case I'll be starting next week." He said, placing the steaks on a dish to take out to the barbecue. "Which reminds me Hiram, I'll probably be home really late all next week, so don't wait on me for dinner or game night." He added frowning.

Hiram sighed, "I'm heading out to New York on Sunday evening. I got a call from a very elite couple in the city to plan their wedding." He said, his eyes flickering to a wide-eyed Rachel.

Leroy frowned, glancing at his daughter. "Well, I'll be in Lima, I just won't be home much. Is that okay, Star? We could get Shelby to come stay here for the week if you want. And before you ask, no you may not miss school to go with your dad."

"Well, I think going to New York with dad would be better for my education, I mean how will I ever learn so I can take over the company?" Rachel said innocently.

Leroy shook his head and laughed as he went outside to grill the steaks, _what a sneaky daughter I've raised _he thought as he heard his husband's dramatic gasp.

"Oh, Star! You want to take over the company?" Hiram said, a hand over his heart.

Rachel nodded innocently, "Yeah, dad! I've got to keep Berry Best Planning alive for you and for everyone else! That's why I should go with you, so I can learn. Better late than never, right?" She said, shooting a laughing Santana a glare.

Before Hiram could respond, Leroy shouted out, "She's playing you like a fiddle, Hiram. Our Star is Broadway or bust. Don't give in to her lies." He said playfully as Hiram narrowed his eyes at his daughter.

Rachel huffed, crossing her arms tightly. "Daddy! I almost had him buying me a plane ticket." She cried out.

Hiram shook his head, "I would have caught on to your scheming soon enough, Rachel Barbara. How could you try to pull one over on your old dad? I thought we were buddies." He said, mock hurt lacing his voice.

Rachel got up and hugged her dad tight, "Oh, dad. Stop being so dramatic. You know you're my favorite, after daddy that is." She said playfully, kissing his cheek, Leroy laughing loudly as he entered the kitchen.

"That's my little Star!" Leroy said, high fiving the tiny brunette and setting the steaks on his and Santana's plates. "Well, let's eat!" He added, sitting down.

Santana sat down in her usual seat at the Berry table, right across from Leroy, and looked around. The Berry family was definitely a happy family, something she couldn't say about the Lopez family. Instead of making her feel bitter, it made her feel happy, knowing she felt so comfortable and included in a family that wasn't her own.

Leroy broke the Latina out of her trance, "Penny for your thoughts, Santana?" He asked playfully.

Santana smiled, "I just realized I really like coming over here." She admitted, blushing slightly.

"Well, you're welcome here anytime you like." Leroy said, grinning brightly.

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks, LB." Santana said as she ate her dinner.

* * *

After dinner, Hiram sent Santana and Leroy to watch the game as he and Rachel cleaned up. "Star?" Hiram called out to his daughter.

Rachel looked up from putting the leftovers into containers, "Yeah, dad?"

Hiram pondered his question for a second, looking for the right words. "You and Santana..you're.." He trailed off.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Friends, dad. Not every girl I bring home is going to be a girlfriend, or someone I like. I know I came out to you and daddy during the summer, but you're still acting like I can't have any friends without them being my girlfriend." She said exasperated. "That's the reason Meg and I aren't friends anymore, you know?" She added.

Hiram sighed, "I know, Rachela, you've told me and I've apologized many times. I just don't want it to happen again with you and Santana, she seems like a good friend, and your daddy just adores her. What's the deal with her? Does she know you're gay?" He asked, intrigued.

Rachel bit her lip nervously, "It's never come up, dad. And before you ask, she's straight, I'm pretty sure she's seeing Noah. And no, I don't have feelings for her, she's just honestly becoming my best friend."

_Sure seems like something else to me, _Hiram thought to himself. "Do you want Shelby to come stay the week next week? Seeing as your daddy won't be home until you're in bed probably." He asked, changing the subject.

Rachel sighed in relief at the subject change, "No, dad, that'd be silly asking Shelby to do that. Daddy will be home in the morning before I go to school, and I'm sure he'll come say goodnight when he gets home. I'll be fine." She said, sending Hiram a reassuring smile.

"Okay, Star as long as you're sure." Hiram said warily, not wanting the girl to be alone so soon again.

* * *

After Rachel was finished helping Hiram in the kitchen, she joined Leroy and Santana in the basement. "Are the Patriotics still playing?" She asked, feigning interest.

"Patriots, Rae. And yeah." Santana said, her eyes not leaving the screen.

Rachel sighed impatiently, "Is it almost done? Wanna go watch a movie, or go out for frozen yogurt?" She asked, poking Santana in the arm.

Santana swatted the girl's hand away, eyes still glued to the television. "In a minute." She said distractedly.

Rachel huffed out in annoyance, pulling out her phone to check the score from yesterday. "The Patriots won by 10, can we go now?" She whined out.

Leroy got to his feet quickly, shutting the television off and going upstairs, "I'm going to spoil the Tony awards for you when it comes on, Rach." He called out in annoyance.

Rachel bit her lip nervously and glanced at Santana, who was trying to hide her smile with a glare. "I'll buy your froyo?" She asked nervously.

Santana laughed, "You best believe you're paying for my froyo, Berry. Come on little miss impatient." She teased.

"Dads, Santana and I are going out for a bit! I promise not to be home late." Rachel called out, standing in the doorway waiting for one of her father's to answer.

"I promise I'll have her home by 8:30 the latest, LB!" Santana called out from the porch outside.

"Keep her, Santana! She ruins games for everyone." Leroy called out playfully.

Santana chuckled, sticking her head in the door frame, "What makes you think I want her? She ruined it for me, too!" She said, sticking her tongue out and an annoyed Rachel.

"Okay, bye dads! See you in a bit!" Rachel called out before anyone could say anything, dragging Santana to the car.

* * *

The two men stood in the kitchen, tiny smiles on both of their faces. "She says they're just friends you know." Hiram said, handing his husband a cup of coffee.

"They'll be dating by Christmas the latest." Leroy said surely.

Hiram smirked at the other man, "You think so?"

"I know so." Leroy said nodding.

"Would you be willing to bet your career on that, Leroy?" Hiram asked, mischief in his eyes.

Leroy narrowed his eyes, "I don't like where this is going.."

"If Christmas comes and they aren't dating, you quit the firm and come back to Berry Best with me." Hiram said, holding his hand out.

Leroy grinned, "And if they are, you quit or let someone else run the business and go back to the force."

Hiram smirked, "You've got yourself a deal." He said, holding his hand out.

Leroy smirked back, gripping the mans hand and shaking it. "Better pull out that old uniform, Hiram."

Hiram shook his head, "Not a chance, from what I hear, Lopez is straight. Better hope your case doesn't go passed Christmas, or else you'll lose a big profit."

Leroy laughed soundly, "One tiny little push from our girl and Santana will be flying out of that closet, guns blazing."

_Only time would tell which one of the men were right._

* * *

**A/N: **Which of the Berrys do you think is right? Be sure to review and let me know if you want more!


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and thanks to everyone who has been following and favoriting! I had some trouble writing this chapter as my mind tried to take it a thousand different ways, so I hope the way it turned out is okay. Someone pointed out that the friendship seems rushed, but in Santana's defense, she hasn't been awful to Rachel, so that aids to why it seems rushed.

* * *

The next morning Rachel was up bright and early, happy to be able to work out again, and not have to rush to school. She tried to come up with different ways she could show Quinn she wasn't going to play the victim anymore without Santana finding out, but came up with nothing. _There has to be something I can do_ she thought to herself as she went into the kitchen to have breakfast.

"Don't think too hard, Star. I can see the steam blowing out of your ears." Leroy joked, seeing the look of concentration on his daughter's face.

Rachel snapped out of her trance, "Did you say something, daddy?"

Leroy chuckled, "It wasn't important, Rach. So are you over your animal sweater phase now?" He asked, gesturing to her outfit which consisted of black yoga pants and a plain gray knitted pullover.

"Daddy that was never a phase, I just felt that it was smarter wearing those when I received a slushie to the face every day." Rachel said, annoyed. "Also, Santana has taken every animal sweater I own captive." She added.

Leroy laughed and patted his daughter on the arm, "I'm not going to lie, Star. It's about time someone has done that. Those were just awful."

"Whatever, daddy. You let me buy them! And you let grandma keep giving them to me." Rachel said, sticking her tongue out.

"You know you're grandma is an impossible lady to tell no. Where do you think Shelby gets it from?" Leroy asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Do you think I'm impossible to say no to? Careful how you answer, I might just test it out." Rachel said innocently, batting her eyelashes.

The older man laughed loudly, "Oh, Rach, you're a comedian. Come on, I'll drive you to school." He said walking outside, his arm around the young brunette.

* * *

When Rachel arrived at school, she went straight inside to her locker and to her surprise found Puck already there.

"Is this going to be a new morning ritual, Noah?" Rachel asked teasingly, opening her locker.

"Morning to you, too, princess. I thought you liked having me around." Puck said, smirking at the short brunette.

"Of course I like having you around, Noah! What's up?" Rachel asked, sorting her books out.

Puck bit his lip, "I just wanted to give you a heads up. Hummel and Mercedes are on the prowl looking for you, according to them the club is unhappy with your decision to name San co-captain without a vote."

Rachel rolled her eyes and closed her locker, "Well, that is simply ridiculous. I shouldn't have to take a vote, I am the captain and I have been asking for a co-captain since the club started since Finn never stepped up."

"Tell them that, here they come now." Puck said, moving to stand on the other side of Rachel.

Mercedes and Kurt stormed up to Rachel, "Listen and listen good, Streissand wannabe. Just because you're the "captain" of Glee club doesn't mean you can go around making all the decisions without asking us what we think first." Mercedes said, getting right up in Rachel's face.

Rachel crossed her arms over her chest, "Well pardon me, Mercedes but I've been asking for someone to be co-captain since last year and no one has wanted to. So excuse me for allowing Santana to when she offered. I shouldn't have to ask the club first when she's the only one that wanted the spot."

Mercedes rolled her eyes, "Please, you probably blackmailed her into taking the spot. Satan of all people does not want to be the co-captain of our loser club, and we don't want her as co-captain so you best be making other arrangements."

Rachel narrowed her eyes, "Why are you even in Glee club if you think it's a "loser club", Mercedes? I'm not going to tell Santana she can't be co-captain because _the club_ doesn't like it. I need a co-captain, and she wants to do it. So, how about a deal?"

"What kind of deal?" Kurt said, speaking up for the first time.

Rachel uncrossed her arms, leaning against her locker, "Kurt I almost forgot you were here. My deal is that we'll take a vote in Glee today, and if you all say you don't want her as co-captain, then fine. But then I'm stepping down, and you two are going to be co-captains and we'll see how far you can get us." She said smiling sweetly, Puck snickering from his spot behind her.

Mercedes glared hard, "You've got yourself a deal, Berry. I can't _wait_ to be captain." She spat, walking away quickly, Kurt nervously following.

"That was the best thing I've ever seen, Rae. When did you become so bad ass?" Santana said in awe.

Rachel jumped in surprise, "Jesus, Tana! How long have you been standing with Noah?"

Santana smirked, "Long enough to see how truly bad ass you can be."

"That was so _hot_." Puck said, blinking in surprised shock.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Shut up both of you, let's go to class, Lopez." She said strutting down the hall, a new found confidence surging through her.

* * *

The rest of the day had been fairly normal, biology was a joke like always and Rachel's other classes seemed to fly by. She had had lunch with Santana, Brittany and Puck, a new tradition starting for the four of them. Tina and Mike came to join them at one point, and brought along Artie and Finn. She hadn't seen Quinn yet, which was a blessing because she still didn't know how to handle that situation.

Her afternoon classes went by quickly as well and it was soon time for Glee club.

Rachel went to her locker before Glee, meeting up with Brittany in the process of walking to the choir room. "Are you excited for Glee club today, Brittany?" Rachel asked as they walked down the hall.

"Yes! I think it's great you and San are going to lead the club, I don't want to hurt Mr. Shue's feelings but he sucks at running the club." Brittany said pouting.

"I couldn't agree more, that's why Santana and I are going to try and fix the club so we actually have a shot at nationals!" Rachel said, walking into the choir room and heading straight for the front.

Noticing everyone was already in the room besides Mr. Shue, Rachel decided to speak up. "So, it was brought to my attention today that some of you don't want Santana as my co-captain, and you're upset because I never took a vote."

The rest of the club looked around at each other confused, "Yeah we are!" Mercedes called out, speaking on behalf of everyone else.

Rachel fought the urge to roll her eyes, "Well, then I'm going to hand out pieces of paper to all of you and I want you to write _yes_ if you want Santana as my co-captain, or _no_ if you don't. Easy enough?" She asked, handing out the papers to the club.

Rachel waited for a few minutes before getting up and collecting everyone's vote, ignoring the smug look Mercedes was wearing. She began unfolding the papers one by one, a blank look on her face as she turned around with the results. "Well, it's unanimous. Mercedes, you're the only one that voted no, and I know it was you so don't say it wasn't."

The club snickered as Mercedes glared around the room, "What the hell? I thought you all hated Rachel, why are you voting against me? Is it because she has Satan on her side now? Do you not want me as your captain? And, Kurt, I thought you were on my side."

"Mercedes, no one even knew you'd take over if they voted no along with you, so don't blame Santana for this." Rachel said exasperated.

Mercedes took one final look around the room before storming out of the room, "I am done with this club if Satan and Satan wannabe are taking over."

Santana rolled her eyes and made her way to the front of the room, "And we all thought Berry was the queen of dramatics. I swear I'm not the spawn of Satan like Wheezy thinks, just ask Rae. I really do want to help lead the club to Nationals." She said smiling before turning and glaring at everyone, "But that doesn't mean I won't think twice about ending any of you if you say shit, got it?" She added.

The club nodded frantically and Santana grinned back at them, Rachel shaking her head behind the Latina. "Okay, well I don't know where Mr. Shue is but let's get started. Santana and I have some great ideas for songs, and Brittany and Mike have great ideas for choreography. Now I just want to see what you guys think about all of it!" Rachel said smiling, handing out sheets with the ideas written on them.

Finn was the first one to speak up, "This is awesome, we're definitely going to win Nationals this year." He exclaimed grinning, the rest of the club grinning and nodding along with the quarterback.

* * *

Once rehearsal was over, Santana and Rachel were the last two in the room. "Daddy drove me to school today..Do you think you could give me a ride home? It's okay if you can't! I can call dad to pick me up, or maybe Noah is still here." Rachel babbled out.

Santana laughed, "Yeah I'll give you a lift, Berry. But I have a short practice, so as long as you don't mind waiting.." She said trailing off.

"That's fine, Tana! I'll probably just stay in here and work on some homework or something." Rachel said.

"Okay cool, then you can come over to my house and we can watch movies or something." Santana said as she walked out of the room to cheer practice.

"Okay, I'll text dad and tell him! Have a good practice." Rachel called out after her.

* * *

That short practice turned into a two hour long wait, Rachel checking her phone constantly for the time. _6:05_ it read back at her as she shook her head in disbelief at how slowly time seemed to be moving.

"Hey, sorry that was so long, coach went crazy and made us do a lot of running." Santana said out of breath as she walked into the room.

Rachel smiled in relief, "I thought I was going to die of boredom, I finished all my homework ages ago!"

"Okay, drama queen! Let's go, Casa de Lopez awaits." Santana said as she walked outside, pulling Rachel along with her.

Rachel scrunched up her nose, "You gotta shower ASAP, Tana. You smell disgusting."

Santana smirked evilly at Rachel, "Oh, do I?" She asked innocently, a glint in her eye.

Rachel's eyes widened, "Whatever you're thinking about, Santana Lopez, you stop thinking it right now." She said, running through the parking lot quickly.

Santana laughed, taking off after the smaller girl and jumping on her back, making the smaller girl falter her steps. "Do I smell disgusting, Rae? I think I smell great." She said, laughing loudly in the tiny brunette's ear.

Rachel giggled uncontrollably, "Get off of me right now, Santana! You're gross, get off!" She said, trying to get the other girl off as she walked towards the car.

"Nuh uh, carry me to the car. I'm so tired, and you just made me run after you." Santana said, laying her head down on the diva's.

Rachel laughed, "You just had to park at the very back today, didn't you? I'm not going to make it, Santana." She said dramatically.

"You are the biggest drama queen _ever_, I bet I could carry you all the way to the car and I just ran around the track for two hours straight." Santana grunted.

Rachel smiled mischievously, "I'm sure you couldn't." She challenged.

Santana narrowed her eyes and jumped off the other girl's back, "Oh yes I could! I'll show you right now." She said firmly, picking up Rachel over her shoulder and taking off for the car, reaching it with ease as she set Rachel down, a cocky grin on her face.

Rachel giggled and patted Santana's arm, "Thanks for the lift, Tana." She said, throwing her bag in the trunk and walking to the passenger door.

Santana stood with her mouth open, "You _tricked_ me. You're a sly one, Rachel Berry."

"That I am, Lopez. Now let's go, I'm starving." Rachel said, jiggling the door handle.

Santana grinned as she tossed her own bags into the car, getting into the front and driving to her house quickly. She stole glances at Rachel when she wasn't looking, a weird feeling taking over her stomach.

* * *

Once they arrived at Santana's house the Latina groaned, hitting her head off her steering wheel. "Of course the one day I bring a friend home." She huffed out.

Rachel stared at the cheerleader, confusion and amusement flashing through her features. "What in the world, Santana? What are you groaning about?"

Santana pointed at the cars in the driveway without lifting her head from the steering wheel, "Both of my parents are home _and_ my abuela."

Rachel's eyebrows knit together in confusion, "Why is that a bad thing?"

Santana sat up, "It's not, they're just annoying. Come on, let's go before they see us out here and yell at me for being a bad hostess." She said, climbing out of the car and retrieving her bags from the trunk, Rachel following suit.

"Mami? Papi? Are you guys home?" Santana called out as she walked into her large foyer.

"In the kitchen, mija!" Her father called out in response.

Rachel's eyes bugged out as she took in her surroundings, "Santana your house is _huge_!" She whispered to the girl.

"Yeah well, it's also lonely 98% of the time." Santana whispered back as the two made their way into the kitchen.

"Hola, mija, how was school?" Her father asked as she entered, his back turned.

"It was fine, papi. I have a friend over, Rachel this is my dad, papi this is Rachel. Where's mami?" Santana said as she sat at the kitchen island in front of her dad.

"It's nice to meet you, Rachel. You're the little girl with the large voice from Glee club, aren't you?" Carlos asked the smaller brunette sitting in front of him.

Rachel blushed, "It's nice to meet you, too, Mr. Lopez."

"Oh Mr. Lopez makes me feel so old, call me Carlos." The man said, pushing a spoon towards his daughter.

"Santana, mija you're home so late! Who is your friend?" Maribel Lopez said as she entered the kitchen.

"Mami this is Rachel, Rachel that's my mom." Santana said through a mouthful of food, ducking her head as her mother glared at her.

"It's rude to talk with your mouth full, Santana." The woman chastised her daughter. "It's really nice to meet you, Rachel. You're Hiram and Leroy's daughter, right?" Maribel asked, sitting down next to her husband.

Rachel smiled at the woman who looked so much like her friend, "It's nice to meet you, too Mrs. Lopez. You know my fathers?"

"Call me Maribel, Mrs. Lopez is my mother in law. Hiram used to be in the hospital a lot when he was working on the force, he doesn't do that anymore does he?" The woman asked intrigued.

"Oh no, he quit a few years ago to focus solely on his business. Daddy has been trying to convince him to go back" Rachel said, shaking her head.

"What kind of business does he run?" Carlos asked.

Rachel shook her head again, "It's a wedding planning business, he's quite popular. Daddy isn't too fond of it."

"Yeah, LB hates it. What's for dinner?" Santana asked, trying to reach for her father's plate.

"I know we didn't raise you in a barn, mija, you have company over, be a lady." Maribel said, rolling her eyes.

Santana rolled her eyes, "Papi, what's for dinner?"

Carlos laughed at his daughter's antics, "Your favorite, mija, grilled shrimp tacos."

Santana's mouth watered, "Are you trying to give me bad news?" She asked, skeptically.

"No, mija. It was the first day your mother and I had off in a while and wanted to make your favorite." Carlos said sympathetically.

"Well maybe you and mami should work more and take less days off cause next time I want _arroz con pollo_." She said, smirking.

Maribel shook her head, "Can you believe our daughter, Carlos?"

The man laughed and patted his wife's arm, "In times like these, she's _your_ daughter, amor."

Maribel glared at her husband before turning to Rachel, "Do you like shrimp? I promise if you do these will be your new favorite, you'll be banging down my door begging me to make them every day."

Rachel chuckled, "I actually-" She began before Santana cut her off.

"Oh shit, I forgot you were vegan I was so caught up thinking about the food. I can make you something else?" Santana asked, biting her lip.

"Actually, if you let me finish before you ever so rudely interrupted me." Rachel said playfully. "I was going to say that I love shrimp. I'm not vegan anymore, Santana, I haven't been since last Christmas. I'm vegetarian, so I eat fish and stuff like that." She said, smiling.

Santana felt her face flush in embarrassment, "Oh..I didn't know. But what about the vegan lasagna?"

"Well vegan lasagna is delicious, you know that. I'd eat it even if I ate meat." Rachel joked, poking Santana. "Now come on, I want to taste the taco!" She said, walking into the dining room.

"Wanky." Santana said, following Rachel into the dining room.

* * *

The girls had hung out after dinner, watching movies in Santana's room and talking before Rachel had to go home.

"Mami, I'm going to drive Rachel home." Santana shouted out to her mother as she went downstairs.

"Okay, mija! Rachel you come back anytime, okay?" Maribel called out from the living room.

"I will, Mrs. Lopez, I mean Maribel! Have a good night." Rachel said, following Santana out the door.

* * *

Santana unlocked the car and climbed in quickly, "My parents love you, they usually aren't this nice."

"Oh, Tana stop lying. Your parents are lovely." Rachel said, smacking the girl on the arm.

"If you say so, Rae. I don't have practice tomorrow at all, how about I pick you up in the morning?" Santana asked, driving through the streets carefully.

Rachel smiled brightly, "Sure! Or I could pick you up for once." She offered.

Santana shook her head, "Nah it's cool, I'll pick you up and then we can get Britts."

"As long as you don't mind!" Rachel said, biting her lip.

"I wouldn't have asked if I minded, midget." Santana said rolling her eyes, parking in front of the Berry house.

"You know if you don't come in, daddy will be offended." Rachel said teasingly.

"Okay but just to say hi, I have homework to do still." Santana said sheepishly, turning the car off and following Rachel inside.

Rachel stared at the girl in disbelief, "Why on earth didn't you do it already? It's almost 9:30!"

Santana shrugged, "I could do it in bio tomorrow, no biggie. Besides I have perfect grades so it doesn't really stress me out."

Rachel shook her head at the girl, "I have good grades, too but I still do my homework!" She said as she opened the door to her house. "Daddy, dad I'm home!" She said as she walked into the living room.

"Star, you missed the first half of CSI. Don't worry I recorded it for you." Leroy said focused on the TV.

"Did you have dinner, Rachela? If not there's soup still from last night, your daddy and I went out for dinner." Hiram said, turning around to face his daughter.

"Where did you guys go? If you say Breadstix I will probably kick myself for not coming here and for bringing Rachel to my house, just saying." Santana said, a small frown on her face.

Leroy turned around at the sound of the Latina's voice, "Lopez you were so quiet I didn't even know you were here. We did go to Breadstix, is that a favorite of yours?"

Santana playfully rolled her eyes, "Oh please, just cause I'm not as loud as Rachel doesn't mean you shouldn't notice me." She joked with the man, grinning at Rachel. "Breadstix is my all time favorite like ever."

Leroy sent a sly smile to his husband, "Well, maybe tomorrow night you and Rachel can go, my treat."

Rachel stared at her father with a horrified look on her face, _what is he doing? _She thought to herself.

Hiram glared at his husband in disbelief, "Now now, Leroy that's unnecessary. I'm sure Santana has other plans, don't you?"

"No way, he's offering to pay. I'm 100% free, thanks, LB!" Santana said high fiving the darker man. "Oh shoot, I gotta go. I'll pick you up in the morning, Rae! Goodnight, LB, Mr. B." She said waving, letting herself out of the house.

Rachel waited a moment after the door closed before turning to Leroy, "Daddy! What are you doing?" She asked, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

Leroy smiled at his daughter, "Nothing, Star! I just want you and Santana to go out for a change, you're always over here for dinner, why not go out?" He said convincingly.

Rachel narrowed her eyes, "I'm going to get ready for bed, stop whatever it is you're doing. Goodnight dads." She said walking out of the living room and up the stairs, out of earshot.

Hiram turned towards the other man, "You think you're so sly don't you?"

Leroy leaned back in his seat smirking, "I don't think, I know I'm sly, Hiram. I hope you have fun next week planning that wedding, cause you'll be back on the force sooner than you think."

* * *

The rest of Rachel's week had been normal, at least a _new normal_ as she liked to put it. Santana had picked her up Wednesday morning, they went to class, had lunch, went to Glee and went back to Rachel's to hang out. The same process was repeated on Thursday, except they had gone to Santana's after the girl had a grueling three hour long Cheerios practice. Both girls were having a pretty good week, and nothing could get in their way. At least that's what they thought.

Rachel woke up feeling excited, it was Friday after all and tonight was the night she was going to her first high school party. She hadn't told her dads exactly what she'd be doing, but they did know she was sleeping over at Santana's. She decided to send a text off to Santana before stepping on the elliptical.

"_Morning Tana! Are you picking me up this morning, and if so, should I bring my stuff so we can just go straight to your house after school? Let me know:)"_

After her morning work out and shower ritual Rachel walked to her closet, deciding on torn white skinny jeans with Santana's Cheerios hoodie equipped with _Lopez_ written across the back, that the girl had left the night before, and black Chuck Taylors.

As she was packing things into her bag, her phone began to buzz repeatedly from its spot on the desk.

_(4) New Messages From: Santana Lopez_

_6:50 "ya im picking u up midge plz bring ur stuff that way we can go back to mine and get ready quicker."_

_6:55 "be there in 10 (I want waffles and I know ur dad is making them)"_

_7:10 "berry the fuck r u doing up there hurry ur waffles r cold"_

_7:20 "if ur not down here in 5 minutes im coming up there to kick ur ass"_

Rachel laughed and checked the clock quickly, _7:25_ it read almost mockingly. Rachel rolled her eyes and waited to see if the cheerleader would actually come up as she packed her things for the weekend.

"I am not above kicking your midget ass, Berry! I am coming in and I don't care if you're naked." Santana shouted as she busted through the door, freezing in her spot to glare at Rachel's smirking face.

"I bet you were wishing I was naked, Lopez." Rachel said teasingly as she finished packing her bag.

"As if, Berry. Unless you got a penis I don't know about, I ain't interested. Now let's go, you're going to make us late. Go eat, I'll put your bags in the car." Santana said, grabbing the bags and going downstairs.

Rachel stood in her place with her lip between her teeth, something Santana said had gotten to her and she wasn't sure why.

* * *

Rachel made her way into the kitchen, throwing a quiet good morning to her fathers before grabbing her plate and sitting down.

Leroy and Hiram shared a look, "Are you okay, Star?" Leroy asked cautiously.

Rachel looked up to meet her father's gaze, "Huh? I'm fine, daddy. Just tired." She said, adding a bright smile for good measure.

Hiram bit his lip, "Are you sure, Rachela? Does this have something to do with Santana? Did she leave?"

"What? No, she went to put my bags in the car. I won't be home after school, I'm heading straight to her house." Rachel said.

Before either men could respond Santana strutted back into the house, "Tiny, we're going to be late if you don't hurry up, we still gotta get Britts." She said snagging a waffle off of Rachel's plate and putting it on Hiram's.

"Santana! I was eating that!" Rachel exclaimed, trying to reach for the waffle.

Santana rolled her eyes and dragged the girl off her chair, "No, you're done! Let's go, Rae, come on."

Rachel squirmed out of the girl's grasp, "Bye, dad! Have a good time in New York, if you need my help I am just a flight or train ride away, okay?" She said, kissing Hiram sloppily on the cheek.

"You know, I might-" Hiram started before Leroy cut him off.

"Your dad will be fine without you, Star. Have a good time tonight, will you be home tomorrow?" Leroy asked.

"I am not sure, I'll let you know! But I'll definitely be home Sunday night to hand out candy with you, it's a Berry tradition!" Rachel called out as Santana dragged her down the hall and out the door.

"Have fun in NYC, Mr. B, show the world that wedding planning is still alive!" Santana called out as she left the house.

Hiram looked at his husband, "You know, that girl is growing on me."

* * *

The three girls made it to school with mere minutes to spare before the bell rang, rushing to their lockers quickly and into class.

Santana breathed heavily as she sat at the lab bench, "You know if you had just hurried up, I wouldn't be out of breath."

Rachel glared at the girl, "For someone who is a cheerleader, you have no stamina."

Before Santana could retort, their teacher walked into the room. "Okay, guys! Today we're going to do a dissection of a fetal pig. I meant to tell you guys earlier this week, but it slipped my mind!" The man exclaimed, handing out lab coats and goggles to each student.

Rachel paled at his words, "I-I can't do it, Tana." She stuttered out, gripping the table tightly.

Santana glanced over at the girl, "It'll be fine, Rae. I'll do all the work, just sit there and pretend." She said reassuringly.

Rachel nodded slightly, "Yeah..Yeah, okay."

The teacher walked over to their lab bench and placed a bucket down next to their dissection tray, "Are you girls ready? I'd like you to meet my friend, Piglet." He said cheerfully, placing a small fetal pig into their tray.

Rachel's eyes widened as she gripped the table harder, "S-Santana, I don't think I-" She slurred out before fainting.

Santana sat shocked in her seat staring down at the tiny brunette, not knowing what to do. The teacher's yells bringing her back.

"Ms. Lopez, please don't faint also. Do you think you can take Ms. Berry to the nurse?" He asked, full of concern.

"I-uh, yeah." She said in a daze, getting off her stool and picking Rachel up she sprinted to the nurse's room bursting through the door quickly.

"Oh my! What happened?!" The nurse exclaimed as Santana laid Rachel down on one of the beds.

"Biology class...fainted...fetal pig...vegetarian...animal rights." Santana breathed out raggedly.

"Ah, I see. She'll be up soon, you can stay with her. When she wakes up, head back to class." The nurse said uninterested as she walked back to her desk.

* * *

Half an hour later, Rachel woke up in a start, "No, don't! I don't eat bacon! I'm Jewish!" She yelled out quickly.

Santana paused before laughing loudly, "Fuck, Rae, you scared the crap out of me! I didn't think you'd pass out like that."

Rachel sat up slowly, "I fainted? Oh my that's embarrassing." She said, blushing in embarrassment.

Santana hugged the girl tightly, "Yeah but it's okay. Come on, let's go get our books that way we can just go sit in the library until class is over."

Rachel bit her lip nervously, "Do you think I'll pass out again?"

"Oh..I didn't even think about that. How about I meet you in the library?" Santana asked, biting her own lip.

Rachel smiled, "Sounds good, see you there!" She called out as Santana left the room.

* * *

On her way to the library, Rachel was stopped by Quinn. "Hey, mandhands, I'm surprised you didn't go blabbering your big mouth to Santana yet." The blonde cheerleader called out at her.

"Believe it or not, I don't need Santana to fight my battles for me, Quinn." Rachel spat, rolling her eyes.

"You better watch your tone, Yentl. I rule this school." Quinn said, getting closer to the girl and grabbing her arm.

Rachel pulled her arm out of the girl's grasp, "Could have fooled me, Quinn. I haven't been slushied by anyone except for you, and I've made an appearance at the Cheerios table multiple times without complaints from anyone but you."

Quinn spun the girl around quickly, getting right in Rachel's face. "The only reason no one has said anything is because you're Santana's new lap dog. Santana is going to drop you like yesterday's news once she figures out how much of a loser you really are." She venomously said, her eyes in slits. "Or maybe you'll drop her and go back to being a loser once you realize how much of a backstabbing bitch she is." She added smirking.

Rachel felt rage spreading through her body, her fist balling up and connecting with Quinn's nose. "Don't you _ever_ talk about Santana like that again." She said angrily.

Quinn covered her nose quickly, "How _dare_ you punch me, you really do have man hands." She screamed, tackling the brunette.

Rachel screamed and tried fighting the girl off, Quinn getting a punch in before Santana came running down the hall.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Santana screamed, grabbing Quinn and tossing her off of the tiny brunette.

"Your little freak of a friend punched me! Wait until Coach hears about this." Quinn screamed, wiping her bloody nose with the back of her hand.

Santana stared at Rachel shocked, "_You_ did that to Quinn?"

Rachel glared at the blonde before turning to Santana slowly, "Yeah. But I only did it because she called you a '_backstabbing bitch_', and no one talks about my friends like that. And she's been on my case all week."

Santana stared at the girl proudly before faltering, "Is _she_ the one that slushied you?" She asked, her stare becoming hard.

Rachel gulped, "Uh, maybe?" She responded timidly.

Santana glared at the tiny brunette, "Why didn't you tell me? I could have take care of Preggers."

Before Rachel could reply, Coach Sylvester came down the hall grabbing Quinn and pulling her down the hall with her. "Keep Streissand in check, Lopez. I won't be so kind next time." She called out.

Rachel stared ahead shocked, "Am I in debt with her now?"

Santana squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her temples, "Yep."

* * *

After the fainting and the Quinn incident, the rest of the day had been pretty normal. Even the Glee club meeting was normal, with the club working together now it really brought them closer as a group, which is why Santana had invited them all to her party that evening.

Everyone left the room excitedly chatting about the party, leaving Santana laughing. "I can't believe how excited they are, it's just a Halloween party."

Rachel rolled her eyes as she packed up her sheet music, "You have to realize that this is the first party most of us losers have been invited to, Tana."

Santana bit her lip, "They aren't losers, high school just sucks and so does the hierarchy in this place. And you definitely aren't a loser, you punched Quinn Fabray in the face and made her bleed without a second thought."

Rachel smirked, "She kinda deserved it, huh?"

"She definitely did. I have to admit, that black eye you'll be sporting tomorrow will be hot." Santana said without thinking, her eyes going wide in alarm as she realized her words.

Rachel giggled, "Well, looks like I'll be more bad ass than you, Lopez."

"Whatever, Berry. Come on, we have to go gets our make up on and hide everything breakable and expensive." Santana said walking out of the room.

* * *

By 10pm the party was in full swing, people scattered all over the house. There was a beer pong tournament set up in the kitchen, flip cup set up on one side of the living room and a game of quarters taking place in her front foyer. Music was blaring all throughout the house, people choosing the other side of the living room as a dance floor. Santana always had the best parties.

Santana glanced around the kitchen biting her lip nervously, _where the hell was Rachel?_ She thought. She had promised herself she would watch the girl, but somewhere between flip cup and quarters she lost track of her. Then she heard it.

"Holy crap, princess! You're almost as good as I am, next round you're my partner." Puck dressed as a life guard exclaimed, tossing his drink back.

"Noah! This is more fun cause we're both _drunk_." Rachel slurred out, grinning as the boy's ball soared right into a cup, forcing her to drink.

Santana walked over to the table, it was Noah and Finn against Rachel and a baby Cheerio named Hallie. "What the hell is going on?" She asked Artie who was watching in amusement.

"Rachel is freaking amazing at this game. Puck chose her to drink the cups he landed and turns out he shouldn't have." Artie exclaimed excitedly.

Rachel glanced over to where Santana stood, skipping right over to her, "Tana! My Thing 1! Where have you been? Noah tried to get me drunk, but I got him drunk!" She said happily hanging off of the girl.

Santana chuckled, "I think Puck did get you drunk, Rae. Sorry I wasn't here to stop his dumb ass."

Rachel stared up at her with wide eyes, "Why are you_ sorry_? I am having a _blast_! You should be on my level, let's do shots!"

Santana stared at the girl for a second, the alcohol in her own system taking over her brain, "Puck! Get the Vodquilla, Berry and I are going to have a little competition."

A chorus of cheers were heard around the kitchen, people gathering around the table from every angle to watch what was about to happen. Rachel grinned and clapped happily, waiting for Santana to pour the shots.

"Okay, Rae, here's the rules; shot for shot, if you don't do it, I win." Santana said smirking, pouring out six shots each to start with. "Ready, Tiny?" She asked, grabbing her first shot.

Rachel nodded quickly, "I was born ready, babe." She said, grabbing her own glass.

Puck looked on excitedly, "Okay, ladies..3-2-1..Go!" He yelled out and whistled.

* * *

2 hours later, both girls were wasted indefinitely. Santana had out drank Rachel by 3, making it _Santana-10 Rachel-7_. Everyone had scattered themselves back around the house afterward, back to doing their own thing.

"S-Santana, I have to pee I think. Come with me!" Rachel slurred and giggled into the Latina's ear, pulling her with her to the bathroom.

Santana giggled, "Okay, but we'll use the bathroom in my room, cuz no one will be waiting for that one."

Rachel stumbled up the stairs to Santana's room, pulling the girl inside of the bathroom with her. "I am having such a good time, Tana. Vodquilla might just be my new favorite drink." She said as she sat on the toilet.

Santana sat on the counter, silently watching the other brunette, a funny feeling setting in the pit of her stomach. _I want to taste her lips_ she thought to herself, her eyes going wide. _Where the fuck did that come from? Pull yourself together, Lopez_ she thought, shaking her head.

Rachel finished up and stood in front of Santana, washing her hands and staring at herself in the mirror. "Hey, Tana-" She started turning towards Santana, being cut off by the other girl's lips pressed firmly against her own.

Santana jumped back in shock, her lips tingling. She stared at Rachel in shock before jumping off the counter and running out of the bathroom. _What the fuck was that?_

* * *

**A/N:** Uh oh, here comes the angst. Be sure to review if you want more or not!


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** I'm still shocked at the feedback for this story, I never once thought people would actually like it, at all. I would like to point out though that my story is mostly AU therefore the characters will be slightly OOC.

* * *

Rachel sat frozen in shock, suddenly more sober than she had been, her lips tingling. _What the hell?_ She thought to herself, touching her lips and blinking rapidly at the empty room. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew she had to talk to Santana and fast.

The tiny brunette raced down the stairs quickly, following the loud chanting right into the kitchen. Santana was stood on her kitchen counter, bottle of tequila in her hand as she chugged, the room cheering her on.

Rachel stormed up to the counter quickly, "We need to talk, Santana. Get down from there!" She whisper yelled at the Latina.

Santana leaned over and pulled Rachel up onto the counter with her, "No way, Berry! Drink!" She said, pushing the bottle into the singer's hands.

"Santana I don't think drinking is going to solve-" Rachel started before Santana cut her off.

"Look, we'll talk tomorrow, okay? _Drink_!" The cheerleader urged, tilting the bottle into Rachel's mouth.

Rachel sighed and closed her eyes tightly, the tequila burning the entire way down as she took a huge sip. "Oh my god, that is _awful_!" She said hoarsely, pushing the bottle back to Santana.

Santana smirked and tipped the bottle back, "Happy fuckin' Halloween, McKinley High!" She screamed out as everyone cheered, pushing the bottle back into Rachel's hesitant hands and smirking as the girl chugged.

* * *

Rachel woke up in a start, her back was hurting and there was a heavy weight spread across her lower half. _Oh my god, I got run over by a truck and now I'm paralyzed in a hospital_ she thought to herself, afraid to open her eyes.

The weight on her lower half began moving, making her squeeze her eyes shut tighter. "Please tell me I'm not in a hospital..or dead." She said, her voice cracking.

The girl laying on top of her giggled softly, "You're going to wish you were dead once the hangover kicks in." She rasped out.

Rachel opened her eyes and regretted it immediately, the light shining in through the kitchen window making her instantly want to puke. "Oh my god, why did I drink? How did I end up sleeping on this counter? Why are you on top of me, Brittany? Where's Santana?" She asked, attempting to sit up.

"You ask so many questions even when you're hungover, doesn't it hurt your head to talk?" Brittany asked, pouting as Rachel shoved her off.

"I'll have you know that-" Rachel started, an instant need to puke as she sat up cutting her off. She took off in a quick sprint to the bathroom, stepping over a passed out Puck in front of the doorway and noticing her appearance in the bathroom mirror. Her costume make-up was smeared, her big blue wig missing, and the red onesie buttoned incorrectly.

"No way, Berry! Go somewhere else." Santana choked out as Rachel entered, her head resting on the porcelain bowl, her appearance almost identical to Rachel's.

"No! You got me into this, I'm going to throw up in two seconds whether you move your head or not, Santana Lopez!" Rachel screeched out, lurching for the toilet bowl.

Santana put her hands over her ears, "Shut up! How can you not even be quiet when you have a hangover." She groaned out, turning away as the girl expelled the alcohol from her system.

Rachel stared at the girl with wide eyes, everything from the previous night flooding back to her. "You owe me a chat, Santana." She said standing up swiftly and locking the bathroom door, leaning on it fully.

Santana stared at the girl with a blank expression, "What are you talking about, Berry?" She said convincingly.

Rachel narrowed her eyes, "You know exactly what I am talking about."

Santana stood up, picking Rachel up and moving her away from the door. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm going to make breakfast, pancakes sound good?" She asked, unlocking the door and stepping out.

Rachel stared open mouthed at the other girl, "Santana, you _kissed_ me, I really do think we need to talk." She whisper yelled to the girl, crossing her arms tightly.

Santana paused in the hall before spinning around and storming back into the bathroom, shutting the door tightly. "No I didn't, I'm not gay. And even if I _did_, it was because I was so drunk I didn't know any better, got it? You speak of this to _no one_, Berry. Do I make myself clear?" Santana said icily, her face inches from Rachel's.

Rachel bit her lip, "Crystal." She whispered, tears welling in her eyes as Santana briskly walked out of the room. As much as she hated to admit it, she definitely felt something when the girl had kissed her and had hoped Santana did too.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Rachel walked into the kitchen with a clean face and regular clothes on, "I think I'm going to head home, I have some homework to do and I want to spend time with my dad before he leaves." She lied easily, not wanting to be there anymore.

Santana bit her lip, "Okay, I'll go get my keys."

Rachel shook her head, "Oh, no need, Santana! I'll just walk, I could use the exercise, hopefully the fresh air will rid me of this god awful hangover before I reach my house." She said forcing a smile.

Santana frowned, but nodded anyways. "Okay, as long as you're sure, Rae."

"Quite sure! Thanks for having me, you really do throw a great party! See you on Monday." Rachel said, walking quickly out of the kitchen, not wanting to give the cheerleader a chance to reply.

Santana stared after the small brunette, her stomach twisting and her heart pounding. _It's just the hangover, you don't like her that way. You're straight._ She thought to herself harshly, every bone in her body wanting to run after Rachel.

"Brittany is still passed out, wanna go for a romp since we didn't get to last night?" Puck said as he strolled into the kitchen, distracting the cheerleader from going after Rachel.

"Go home, Puckerman." Santana said sighing heavily, suddenly not wanting the boy around.

* * *

Rachel walked into her house as quietly as possible, attempting to sneak upstairs before her dads caught her.

"Ahem." Leroy said, clearing his throat in amusement.

_Busted_. Rachel thought to herself before turning around, a sheepish smile on her face. "Good morning, daddy! How was your evening?"

Leroy chuckled and pulled the girl into the kitchen with him, "It was lovely, Star. How was _your_ evening? Why are you home so early, I thought for sure you'd be with Lopez until tomorrow evening the latest." He questioned, making the girl a cup of tea.

"It was fine, very dull. Movies and food and being awake until four in the morning, girl things." Rachel lied easily, accepting the mug from the man.

Leroy rolled his eyes, "You may be able to convince your dad with that but I wasn't born yesterday. Santana throw a good party?"

Rachel smiled sheepishly, "Yes, she's very famous for them you know. Also I'm alive and well so please don't punish me."

"Oh I won't, but since you're home so early you can help file all of the documents in the basement I haven't gotten around to!" Leroy said, grinning at his daughter before he sat and opened his newspaper.

Rachel narrowed her eyes, "That sounds like a punishment to me." She mumbled into her mug.

* * *

Three hours later Rachel found herself surrounded by boxes and boxes of unfiled documents, somehow seeming like more than when she started. "Daddy, can I please take a break? This is so _boring_." She whined out.

Leroy laughed softly at his daughter, "Sorry, kiddo, no can do cause I know you won't come back down here. You know you never answered me earlier, why'd you come home so early?" He asked, flipping through a file.

"I don't know, I was just tired and wanted to sleep in my own bed for a few hours." Rachel said huffing as she dug through a box. "What a mistake that was seeing as I haven't gotten to do that!" She added annoyed.

Hiram sat with a hand over his heart from his spot on the floor, "Leroy! The girl has been at this for hours, let her take a nap. You know how girl sleepovers are, nail painting and relationships, food and movies. Our poor Star is burnt out."

Rachel smiled innocently at Leroy, "Yeah, daddy! I'm burnt out, let me leave."

Leroy shook his head, "You people are impossible. Go on, Star, go recharge yourself."

Rachel smiled brightly at Hiram, sending him a silent thanks as she took off out of the room.

"Making our star slave like that, shame on you, Leroy." Hiram said, shaking his head.

"Well now you can take over instead of supervising, two makes the perfect working pair, right, darling? That is what you said earlier." Leroy said, smirking at the man.

Hiram shook his head, "Maybe we should get Rachela back down here, she was doing a superb job."

Leroy rolled his eyes and slid a box over to his husband, "I'll miss your dramatics while you're in New York."

* * *

Rachel got into her room and dived right onto her bed, sighing in relief at the instant comfort. Deciding to check her various social media accounts she grabbed her phone, frowning when she realized it was dead. She plugged it in and waited for it to start up, her face twisting into surprise when it did.

_(7) New Messages From: Santana Lopez_

_(2) New Messages from: Brittany Pierce_

_(1) New Message from: Noah Puckerman_

Rachel bit her lip, deciding on opening Santana's messages first. reading them quickly.

"_u should have stayed for breakfast, I made rly good pancakes."_

"_britts wouldnt move off the counter so I used her as a table top"_

Rachel smiled softly at the picture that came attached to that second text, a clearly passed out Brittany on the counter with Santana's plate on top of her abdomen and a cup in her hand. She closed the picture and continued reading the messages.

"_i found ur wig in my freezer...wtf?"_

"_i guess ur not talking bc ur asleep..text me when u wake up!"_

"_for real u should have stayed over..me and britts r watching disney movies..aka we r watching musicals, ur fave."_

"_britts is sad u didnt say bye before u left btw"_

"_i dont think ur still sleeping soooo u should prob text me back sometime maybe"_

Rachel sighed, not wanting to talk to the Latina just yet. She opened the messages from Brittany next.

"_why didnt you say bye:("_

"_im sorry if it was cause I said you talk a lot! If thats why you left im sorry rach, you should have stayed."_

Rachel frowned, and texted the blonde back quickly, not wanting Brittany to think she was mad at her.

"_I'm sorry Brittany, I was in such a rush to leave, I totally forgot :( I went home to do homework and hangout with my dads. I promise we can hang out this week, if you'd like!"_

Sending the message off quickly, she opened the one from Noah.

"_hey jewbabe I took care of everyone that took pics and vids of u dancing on the counter with lopez and brittany. Dont worry, your good girl rep is safe from anyone who wasnt at the party"_

Rachel smiled, Puck had always had her back even if he wasn't vocal about it. She texted the boy back with her thanks.

"_Thank you soooooo much Noah! You have a batch of cookies coming your way on Monday :)xx"_

Rachel put her phone on silent and placed it on her bedside table, drifting off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Hiram walked into his daughter's room quietly, "Rachela, I came in to say bye and I'll see you in a week." He whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Rachel rubbed her eyes, "What time is it? I thought you were leaving Sunday evening?"

Hiram chuckled, "It's 1:30...on Sunday, I have to head to the airport now cause I'm flying out from Columbus."

Rachel sat up quickly, "Why did you guys let me sleep for so long! I have homework to do, and I wanted to spend time with you before you left." She said pouting.

"You needed the sleep, Star. I promise we can spend time together when I get home. Your daddy is driving me to the airport, so he'll probably be back late. Why don't you invite Santana over to keep you company?" Hiram offered.

Rachel smiled, "Have a safe flight, dad. Keep me updated? Fly me out if you hear talk that Barbara is around somewhere." She said, hugging the man tightly.

Hiram grinned, "You bet I will! I love you, Rachela, if you are feeling lonely be sure to call Shelby to come spend the week here."

"Love you, too, dad! Now go before you're late." Rachel said, ushering the man out of the room.

Rachel stood at the top of the stairs until her fathers walked out of the house and locked the door, smiling to herself she made her way back to her room. She unplugged her phone from the charger and made her way downstairs to find something to eat.

* * *

Rachel sat on the counter waiting for the leftover pasta in the oven to heat up, her mouth watering. Switching her phone off of silent, she realized she had new messages. She sighed and unlocked her phone quickly, opening her message box.

_(3) New Messages from: Santana Lopez_

"_i just watched funny girl bc there was nothing else on..what have I become?"_

"_r u sick? Is ur phone dead? Did u even make it home alive?"_

"_i know u made it home alive bc you texted britts and puckerman..u mad at me for something?"_

Rachel bit her lip, truth be told she didn't know _what_ to say to the girl. Santana had made it clear that _nothing_ had happened, nor will it ever happen. Rachel rubbed her face trying to think of something to say back.

"_I'm so sorry I haven't replied Santana! I got home safely, and then I filed papers for daddy for hours on end. I went upstairs to relax in bed and texted Brittany and Noah back, and-"_

As she was typing her text, a new one came through.

"_we need 2 talk..please call me or something asap."_

Instead of calling the girl, Rachel deleted her message and started again.

"_Come over. Dad and daddy aren't home, they're on their way to Columbus and daddy won't be home until late."_

Rachel bit her lip nervously as she pressed send. Seconds later her phone beeped with a new text from the cheerleader.

"_on my way."_

* * *

Santana knocked on the Berry door nervously, waiting for Rachel to answer. She had spent most of yesterday and today trying to figure out what was going on, and she seemed to have put it in good perspective for herself. She held her breath as Rachel opened the door, the girl was dressed in tiny black WMHS gym shorts and a neon pink colored Under Armor hoodie. _So simple and so breathtaking_ she thought to herself, shutting her eyes tightly at the silent thought.

"Santana, hey. Come in." Rachel said, smiling softly at the cheerleader as she lead her through the house and into the living room.

Santana sat down nervously, "I don't know why I did it." She blurted out quickly.

Rachel sat down next to her cross-legged, "Did what?" She asked confused.

"Kissed you. I don't know why I did it. I'm straight..at least I think I am. I don't have anything against gay people, your dads are awesome, I just..don't think I am. And I don't know why you're so calm about this, I'd be freaking out if a girl kissed me randomly. I _am_ freaking out I don't-" Santana babbled on before Rachel cut her off.

"I'm not freaking out cause I'm _used_ to girls kissing me." Rachel said nervously, playing with the strings on her sweater.

"What? I thought last night was your first party?" Santana asked in confusion.

Rachel chuckled nervously, "When you're a lesbian, you don't have to go to a party to be drunkenly kissed by your female friends, Santana."

Santana's head shot up quickly, "Lesbian..You? When? How?"

"I um, realized it at the end of freshman year and really only came to terms with it over the summer." Rachel said, biting her lip.

Santana stared shocked at the girl not knowing what to say. "How um, how did you know? That you were..that you liked girls."

Rachel smiled softly, "It was after dance class one day, one of the girls in my class cornered me in the changing room and kissed me and told me she liked me. At first I freaked out, but I realized after that I actually kinda _liked_ kissing her, and it didn't matter that she wasn't a boy. I didn't tell my dads until recently, I didn't want to disappoint them by being a stereotype of a child raised by gay men."

Santana sat quietly for a second, thinking over everything the girl had said. "Were they supportive of you?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, extremely so. They were upset with me for hiding who I was for so long, but ever since then they've been trying to set me up, which I don't approve of." Rachel said, shaking her head.

Santana bit her lip nervously, "I was really drunk when I kissed you."

Rachel cocked her head, "I know, I was, too. Just cause you kissed me it doesn't have to mean you're suddenly gay, Santana."

Santana wrung her hands together, "I know. I just um, I think I liked it."

"You think?" Rachel asked slowly, not knowing where this was going.

"Yeah but..I'm not sure..I mean, I don't remember really." Santana said nervously, waiting for the girl to catch on.

"You..don't remember?" Rachel asked.

Santana shook her head quickly, "No."

"So your mind is unclear because..it was fogged by alcohol which is making you unsure how you're feeling..?" Rachel said slowly, hoping this was going where she wanted it to.

"Yes." Santana said simply, inching closer to the girl slowly.

"W-well, you should probably kiss a girl sober then to figure it out." Rachel stammered.

Santana smiled slowly, "I couldn't agree more, Berry." She said leaning in and closing the gap between them, her lips pressed firmly against the other girl's.

Rachel smiled into the kiss, one of her hands fisting the front of the Latina's shirt while the other firmly grasped the back of her neck, pulling her in closer.

Santana slowly parted her lips, dragging her tongue across the smaller brunette's bottom lip, begging for entrance. She sighed happily as Rachel's lips parted, her tongue darting to explore the girl's mouth. Her hands were gripped tightly to the singer's hips, pulling her in closer until there wasn't an inch of space between them.

Rachel pulled Santana on her lap, the girls thighs on either side of her own as she ran her hands up and down them. She sucked on the girl's bottom lip gingerly, gaining confidence at the cheerleader's moans.

"Something smells like it's burning.." Santana mumbled against Rachel's lips, her hands knotting in the girl's hair. Just as she said it, the fire alarm went off, blaring all through the house.

"Oh shoot!" Rachel screamed, pushing Santana off her lap and dashing for the kitchen.

* * *

Santana sat frozen on the couch, her lips tingling. "Woah." She breathed out, getting up on shaky legs to head into the kitchen.

Rachel smiled in embarrassment, "I forgot about my pasta in the oven." She said, a strong blush on her cheeks.

Santana bit her lip, "Wanna go out?"

Rachel stared at the girl with wide eyes, "W-what? Santana I'm flattered but I think we should talk about the repercussions before we agree to anything."

It was Santana's turn to stare at the girl in surprise, "I uh, I meant for food."

Rachel blushed a deep shade of red, "Of course, um, me too. Let me go change." She said hurriedly, trying to get out of the room.

Santana grabbed the girl's arm, "I um, I'm not sure what's going on, but I know I really _really_ liked kissing you. And I don't know what that means, and if it means what I think it does then I'm not sure I'm..ready for anything and-"

Rachel hugged the girl tightly before cupping her face, "Until you know what you want, I'm not pushing you. I'm your friend before anything else, and I'll be there for you through it all."

Santana smiled, "Thank you, Rae." She said softly. She watched the girl walk out of the kitchen, "Maybe once I do figure my shit out, we could actually maybe..go out or something sometime." She said nervously, but seeing the small smile that played on Rachel's lips made her feel a sense of serenity.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry this chapter isn't that long, I had most of it written and hated where it was going so I deleted it and started again. I've been extremely ill for the last week and a half which is why this is so short, but I promise the next chapter will be much longer! Remember to review if you want more.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** I'm glad so many of you liked the last chapter, I was so excited when it reached 40 reviews. I really can't thank everyone enough for their support on this story! Over the weekend I was struck with an idea for a new story, so look out for that coming soon. It'll probably be a really long one or two-shot but don't worry I will keep posting regular updates for PBF :)

* * *

Leroy frowned as he pulled up to his dimly lit house, he was positive Rachel would be home. He made his way into the house pausing slightly as he saw light from the living room brightening the hallway in flashes. Quietly he made his way into the living room, a big smile taking over him at the sight.

Santana was laying face up on the couch sound asleep, Rachel sprawled out on top of her. The cheerleader's arms were wrapped tightly around the girl's waist and her chin rested upon Rachel's head, who was lying cheek down on the girl's chest.

Leroy took out his phone and snapped a picture quickly, sending it off to his husband.

"_Enjoy your planning dear, looks like it'll be your last wedding. Make it count."_

He smirked to himself as he made his way into the kitchen, shaking his head as his eyes fell on the burnt pasta. "I can only imagine why this is burnt." Leroy said to himself, tossing it in the trash. Suddenly his phone loudly sounded and buzzed away on the counter.

_Incoming Call: Hiram Berry_

Leroy grinned, "Hello, dear! How was your flight?" He asked nonchalantly.

"_You think you're so smug, don't you, Leroy? They could simply be best friend snuggling, girls do that."_ Hiram said on the other end.

"While I am sure you're right, this is more than that. Call it a dad's intuition." Leroy said chuckling.

"_You laugh all you want, you are wrong. Now I have to go, I have a meeting in twenty. Make sure to not only hand out the unhealthy candy but also the little vegan granola bars when the kids come to the door." _Hiram said quickly before hanging up.

"I'm putting the bowls outside, the kids can take whatever-" Leroy said quickly, getting cut off by the dial tone. "That man will be the cause of my early death." He said shaking his head and walking outside to leave the bowls.

* * *

As he was walking back in, Rachel came stumbling out of the living room rubbing her eyes. "Did you just get home?" The small brunette asked sleepily.

"Not just now, but recently. Did you have a good day?" Leroy said grinning mischievously, guiding her into the kitchen with him.

Rachel shrugged, "It was alright. Santana came over shortly after you left and I burned my food so we went to Breadstix and came back here and watched movies."

"Do you snuggle with all of your friends, Rach?" The man said grinning bigger, poking his daughter.

"Nah, just the good looking ones. So just me." Santana said smirking as she made her way into the kitchen, fist bumping the man as she walked past.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Don't be cocky, Tana. It's unbecoming of you."

"My middle name is cocky. Take me baby or leave me." Santana sang, smirking at Rachel.

Rachel grinned brightly "I _knew_ you liked Rent. We should sing a duet in Glee this week, it would be so fun." She said clapping her hands excitedly.

Santana smiled softly, "Yeah, maybe. I've gotta head home though, I didn't do my homework...like at all, and I have a test in calc tomorrow. Want a ride to school?"

"No, I have vocal lesson right after school and I know you have Cheerios so I'll drive myself." Rachel said walking the cheerleader to the front door.

"Suit yourself, Berry. See you in bio?" Santana asked, biting her lip softly.

Rachel smiled, "See you in bio, good luck studying, Tana."

Santana leaned forward and quickly pecked the girl on the lips without thinking. "Uh, I, um. Bye!" Santana said quickly, sprinting to her car with a blush set firmly on her face. _How could something so weird feel so right and natural? _She thought to herself in awe.

Rachel laughed awkwardly and shut the door, making her way upstairs to her room with a smile planted firmly on her face.

* * *

Rachel sat at her desk on her laptop, she had just finished her homework and was more than ready for bed. Just as she was about to shut down her computer, her Skype started ringing with an incoming call from none other than Santana. Rachel glanced at the clock, _11:35_ it read back at her almost teasingly. She accepted the call, a glare set on her face.

"Do you know what time it is, Santana Lopez?" Rachel asked, her arms crossed.

Santana stared at the girl shock etched onto her face, which she replaced with a narrowed glare. "You're the one signed in this late. I just wanted some company, but fine. Go to bed like a nerd."

Rachel bit her lip, "Can I just get ready for bed really quick and then I'll keep you company?"

Santana smirked, "I knew you'd see it my way. Don't be too long, I might die of boredom."

Rachel laughed, "You're supposed to be studying." She said as she walked into her bathroom to do her nightly ritual.

"I'm bored of studying, numbers are boring. Do you think you're going to faint in bio again tomorrow?" Santana asked almost hopefully.

Rachel emerged from her bathroom dressed in tiny sleep shorts and a tank top causing Santana to blush as the girl caught her staring. "I hope not, that was sorta awful." Rachel said biting her lip, deciding not to tease the Latina for now.

"What was?" Santana asked distractedly.

Rachel smirked, "Me fainting. For someone so confused about their sexuality you do tend to gawk at my legs an awful lot."

Santana sat with her mouth agape, "I uh, um, sorry." She said, blushing.

"Don't worry about it, I'm flattered." Rachel said as she got into bed, setting her laptop down beside her.

"You're going to fall asleep and leave me to die of boredom aren't you?" Santana asked changing the subject.

Rachel gasped, "Of course not! That would be bad etiquette, Santana!"

"Yeah well if you do, you're buying me lunch tomorrow." Santana said with a pout.

Rachel yawned, "You got it, boss."

Santana sighed exasperated, "You're already falling asleep!"

Rachel giggled, "No you are."

Santana rolled her eyes, "You're insane. Can I read my english lit paper to you? It sounds repetitive to me, and I need a second opinion."

Rachel snuggled into her bed, "Sure, Tana."

Santana smiled in thanks and began reading, every so often Rachel would throw in her opinion and by the end of the paper the girl was silent. Santana looked up and frowned, the tiny brunette was dead asleep. "I knew you would fall asleep." She said matter of factly. Looking down at the chat box, she saw that the girl had left her a message.

"_I am falling asleep :( If I do, you can leave this running for my company, I've been known to talk in my sleep you know. Goodnight Tana xo"_

Santana smiled softly, the tiny brunette was slowly but surely forcing her way into her heart and the scary part was that she wasn't freaked out by it in the least.

* * *

Santana, Brittany and Rachel were in the bathroom before lunch, the two cheerleader's adjusting their high pony's in front of the mirror as Rachel waited for them by the door. "Is something going on between you two?" Brittany asked suddenly.

Santana's eyes widened, "W-what? Why would you ask that? No." She stammered out, eyes darting around the room, landing on Rachel who looked just as shocked.

"Relax, San, it's just us in here. I heard you guys talking on Saturday about kissing and Santana seemed really freaked out the whole day so I just put two and two together."

"Nothing is going on Britts, you misunderstood. Rachel kissed..James Karr, you know from the football team? And she was just freaking out over it. Right, Rae?" Santana said quickly, oblivious to the hurt look on Rachel's face.

Rachel plastered a fake smile on her face quickly, "Yeah, Brittany, that's all it was. I'm sorry you thought that, I assure you if something did happen Santana would have told you because you're her best friend." She said, taking a dig at Santana in the process.

Brittany frowned, "Okay, if you guys say so. I'm totally cool with it if you want to get your sweet lady kisses on, I mean that'd be so totally unicorn of you guys."

Santana laughed nervously, "Sorry, Britts, you're shit outta luck. Let's go to lunch, dwarf over here fell asleep last night and now has to buy me food, and Auntie Tana is starving." She said, guiding the other two girls out of the room.

Once the girls walked out of the room, Quinn Fabray stepped out of a stall, an evil smirk planted firmly on her face. "Your reign at this school is done, Lopez." She said before strutting her way down the hall, HBIC glare in full effect.

* * *

By the end of the day, Santana had had enough of everyone staring at her. She stormed down the hall with a deep frown on her face and her best glare intact, ignoring everyone around her. As she reached her locker, she noticed Puck standing at it, a scowl on his face.

"Is it true?" Puck asked angrily as she approached.

"Is _what_ true? That your haircut is stupid? Yes." Santana said in annoyance, throwing open her locker roughly.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, San." Puck said.

Santana sighed, "I really don't, Puckerman. I'm going to be late for Cheerios if we keep up this guessing game so _please_ speed it up."

"Is it true you're a dyke? Cause if you are it's really fucked up you kept it a secret from me and kept stringing me along." Puck said angrily, not noticing how pale the dark girl had gotten.

Santana angrily pinned the boy to the lockers, "Where the fuck did you hear that?"

"Everyone is talking about it, the guys in the locker room were making fun of me for turning you to women. Is it true?" Puck gasped out, the girl's arm on his throat cutting off his breathing.

"No it's not fucking true. You of all people should know that. But don't worry about me 'stringing you along', Puckerman. We won't be continuing our weekend activities anymore. I'm late for practice." She spat, kneeing the boy in the groin as she released him. _I'm going to kill Brittany._ She thought angrily to herself as she sprinted down the hall and out onto the field.

* * *

Thankfully Coach made them start off with laps, allowing Santana to easily fall into step next to Brittany. "Britts, why did you tell everyone I was..What you thought?" She whispered harshly.

Brittany stared at the girl, confusion and hurt mixed on her face. "San..I would never do that. You should know that. I can't believe you would accuse me of something like that." She said sadly, sprinting up ahead of Santana.

Santana sighed and tried to catch up, but the blonde was too fast. The rest of the practice was spent mostly the same way, trying to get to Brittany and the girl avoiding her.

After practice Santana made her way into the changing room with a scowl on her face, the girls on the squad kept giggling behind her back and giving her dirty looks.

"Watch out, girls, Lopez is newly gay and loving the ladies." One of the senior Cheerios called out, the rest of the squad giggling around the room.

"Hilarious, Samantha. Really, you should be a comedian. I don't know where you get your information from, but I can assure you I'm not gay. I think the only person who may love dick more than I do, is you. I heard what you did at my party, with Artie Abrams of all people. You like cripples, Jenkins?" Santana said cocking her head to the side, a smirk smugly taking over her face as the girl sputtered.

"You had sex with the biggest loser in Glee club, Sam?" One of the baby Cheerios asked in shock.

"You bet she did, in my coat closet of all places. Guess she couldn't at least carry him up the stairs and make his first time special, huh?" Santana asked.

Samantha glared at the Latina, "At least I fucked a boy, Lopez. I heard you got your mack on with Man Hands Berry of all people."

"At least Berry is good looking, Sam." Another Cheerio said, snickering.

Santana smirked, "Exactly. Sadly it's not true, cause I'm no lesbian, sorry to disappoint you, Jenkins." With that Santana grabbed her bag and stormed out of the room, missing the smug look Quinn was sporting.

* * *

Santana sped home quickly, wanting to shower, change and hide in her bed for the rest of her life. She was getting used to the idea of maybe being gay, and of course something had to come up and throw her two steps backwards. She sighed and threw her bags down on her bed as she made her way into the bathroom.

As soon as she stepped out of the shower, she heard a muffled ringing noise coming from her gym bag. She sprinted towards noise, hoping it was Brittany. She frowned reading the screen.

_Incoming Call: Rachel Berry_

"You have some nerve calling me, Berry." Santana said angrily into the phone.

"_I'm sorry, pardon me?" _Rachel said confused on the other end.

"You told someone, or everyone, about what happened. How could you do that? And don't say it wasn't you, because I already confronted Brittany and I know it wasn't her. I never thought you would do that, how would you like it if I told everyone you were gay?" Santana ranted.

"_Santana..I didn't-I would __**never**__. How __**dare**__ you accuse me of that. I called to ask __**you**__ why people kept congratulating me all day and looking at me funny."_ Rachel said angrily.

"You were the only other one in the bathroom, Berry. Just admit it!" Santana yelled into the phone.

"_You know what? When you're ready to apologize to me you may call me back. Until then...fuck you, Santana."_ Rachel said sniffling, hanging up the phone.

Santana stared at her phone in shock, did Rachel Berry seriously just hang up the phone on her? Had _Rachel Berry_ seriously said fuck you? Santana rubbed her face roughly and climbed into her bed. Today had been the worst day ever.

* * *

Rachel threw her phone across the room, how _dare_ Santana accuse her of that after all she said to her about being there for her. Rachel went downstairs, needing to get out of the house before she went crazy. Just as she opened her door, Brittany stepped onto the porch.

"Rach! Are you psychic?" Brittany exclaimed.

Rachel smiled softly, "No, I just needed some air. Your friend is infuriating."

Brittany bit her lip, "Did San accuse you of something, too?"

"Yes. And I am offended that she even thinks I did." Rachel said crossing her arms tightly.

Brittany frowned deeply, "Me too. I mean I know I blurt out things a lot, but I swear I never told anyone."

"I know, Britt. Wanna come inside and hang out?" Rachel asked, sending the girl a smile.

"Actually I came over to see if you could maybe help me with my homework. Usually San does but I'm mad at her and also she never answered her phone." Brittany said with a pout.

"Sure, Britt! I'd be happy to help." Rachel said, grabbing the girl and dragging her inside.

* * *

Santana woke up in a start, looking at her clock with a squint she sighed, _8:14_. She hadn't slept her life away, just her entire evening. She checked her phone and noticed she had four missed calls from Brittany, and an angry text.

"_im mad at YOU san. you have no reason to be ignoring me. Im going to rachs for homework help thanks for nothing."_

Santana groaned in frustration, she hadn't meant to make Brittany upset, she just needed to know if the girl had told anyone her assumptions. And then there was Rachel. She realizes now maybe she was wrong to accuse and get mad at the tiny diva like she had, but her and Brittany were the only two in the bathroom.

The Latina sighed and pulled out her phone, she had some major apologizing to do. Deciding Brittany was the safer of the two to call first, she dialed the number quickly.

"_Hello?"_ Brittany said cheerily into the phone.

"Hey, Britts, can we talk? I wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have accused you of that, and I'm sorry I did. Forgive me?" Santana asked hopefully.

"_I'm really pissed that you did that, you know I wouldn't blab about that. And you didn't help me with my homework."_ Brittany said.

Santana sighed, "I know, Britts, I'm really sorry. I fell asleep after school, I had a bad day and just wanted to sleep it off. I can help you with homework now if you want?"

"_I guess I forgive you. And you don't have to help me, Rach already did. By the way, she's super pissed at you so good luck."_ The blonde said almost teasingly.

Santana bit her lip nervously, "How mad?"

Brittany pondered the question for a few moments before answering, _"On a scale of one to ten she's at a Hitler..is that racist cause she's Jewish?"_

"Probably." Santana answered, distracted by her own thoughts. "Listen, I've gotta go, okay? I have to talk to Rachel."

"_Okay! Good luck, San!"_ Brittany said into the phone, quickly hanging it up.

Santana sighed in frustration, she knew Rachel wouldn't be as forgiving as Brittany and she had no idea how to make it up to the girl.

* * *

Rachel sighed, Santana had called her eight times in the last five minutes and she had yet to answer one call.

"You know she's not going to give up, you should just talk to her." Brittany said softly.

"No way, if she thinks she can call me and talk circles until I forgive her she is wrong. I'm shutting my phone off." Rachel said with a determined look on her face. She shut her phone off and placed it on the coffee table in front of her, a proud smile on her face.

Brittany shook her head, "She's going to come over you know."

Rachel's smile faltered for a second, "We'll just ignore her." She stated, the smile back on her face as she turned the TV up.

Sure enough Santana did show up, and she did not take well to being ignored. "Berry let me in, you can't ignore me forever." The cheerleader shouted from outside.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Yes I can. Go away before you disturb my neighbors, Santana!" She screamed.

Brittany sat on the couch biting her lip, she didn't understand why Rachel wouldn't just accept the girl's apology. "Rach, can you please just hear her out? She accused me too and I forgave her."

"No way, Britt. This is beyond her accusing me." Rachel said with a determined look on her face.

"Ugh why are all my friends so stubborn?" Brittany groaned, laying face first on the couch.

* * *

After a while the knocking had stopped and Rachel had given the blonde a proud stare, "I told you she'd go away eventually."

"I'm kind of surprised, I mean San never giv-" Brittany was cut off by a big thump from upstairs.

"What was that?" Rachel asked, slowly making her way out of the living room and up the stairs. She opened her bedroom door slightly, "Whoever is in there, I hope you know my dad is a cop!" She screamed before throwing open her door.

Santana smirked from her position on the floor under the girl's window, "Way to lie, Berry. Also you're home alone." She said smugly, standing and brushing off her jeans.

Rachel stood with her hands on her hips, "I told you to go away not break into my house."

Santana rolled her eyes, "Well maybe you shouldn't have left your window open. Very unsafe. Can we talk?"

Rachel crossed her arms tightly over her chest, "No. Go home, Santana. I am not talking to you as of right now."

Santana frowned, "Please, Rae? I'm sorry. I know it was wrong of me to accuse you, and I'm sorry I yelled and didn't listen."

Rachel narrowed her eyes, "If you think those are the only reasons I'm upset you have a lot of thinking to do."

Santana grinned, "I thought you weren't talking to me?"

"I'm not I'm simply informing you-damnit, Santana, this is why I didn't answer your phone calls. You can't talk circles in hope of me just forgiving you." Rachel said in annoyance.

"But I don't even know what else I did, you have to help me. I'm kind of an idiot when it comes to things like this." Santana said helplessly.

"I get that you're confused, but I thought you had it pretty much figured out. At least to the point where you could tell your best friend what's going on, Santana." Rachel said softly, hoping Santana would get where she was going.

"So you're mad because..I haven't told Britts I might be... gay?" Santana asked slowly, oblivious to the girl's point.

Rachel sighed, "Just leave, please." She almost begged, not understanding how the cheerleader didn't see she was upset by what happened in the bathroom.

"Fine." Santana said stubbornly. "But I'm using the front door, I am not scaling the tree again." She added, crossing her arms.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I wasn't going to make you use the window." She said, leading the girl out of her room and downstairs to the front door.

"San! How did you get in?" Brittany exclaimed as she ran out of the living room.

"Window, you know how I do." Santana said with a grin on her face, hugging the girl.

"Awesome. Did you and Rach make up?" Brittany asked hopefully.

"Nah, Berry's a hard ass. I probably have to serenade her." Santana joked, taking a glance at Rachel to see if the girl had cracked a smile, frowning when the girl glared at her.

"Santana was just leaving, Britt." Rachel said, opening the front door.

"Need a ride home? I know you walked here." Santana asked the blonde.

Brittany bit her lip, "Yes, but only cause it's late and I have to be home. I swear I'm not picking sides, Rach!"

Rachel laughed softly, "I know, don't worry! I'll see you tomorrow, Brittany."

"See you tomorrow, Rae. You can't escape me in bio." Santana said smugly as she walked outside.

Rachel narrowed her eyes, "That's what you think." She whispered under her breath, shutting the door tightly behind her.

* * *

Rachel stood at her locker the next morning organizing her books before her first class. Since she arrived at school she hadn't seen Santana, but she knew the girl would seek her out before biology started.

"Hey, princess." Puck said, leaning against the lockers next to the tiny brunette.

"Good morning, Noah! What can I do for you?" Rachel asked, smiling brightly.

"Pass on a message to San for me?" The boy asked hopefully.

Rachel frowned, "No can do, Noah. I am not on speaking terms with her, therefore I am not able to pass on anything to her."

"Why are you giving her the silent treatment? I thought you were best friends." Puck asked, confusion taking over his face.

Rachel huffed, "Because, she accused me of spreading that rumor about her. Which reminds me, how did _you_ find out?"

"The guys in the locker room were making fun of me, they heard it from some Cheerios who Jewf-" Puck paused, seeing the look Rachel was giving him, "JBI told them after he got it from a very reliable source."

Rachel narrowed her eyes, "What source?"

Puck shrugged, "I don't know, he wouldn't tell me. Even after I threatened him, said someone way more powerful than me would hurt him if he told."

The bell rang before Rachel could answer, but with a determined look on her face she set off down the hall. "Thanks, Noah!" She called out over her shoulder as she hustled down the hall. She had a fairly good idea who the powerful source was, but needed the boy to confirm her suspicions.

* * *

Santana smirked as Rachel entered the room, she had made sure everyone sat spread around the room giving the singer nowhere to sit but beside her. "Good morning, Rae." She said cheerily as the girl sat down.

Rachel rolled her eyes and ignored the girl, pulling out her books and iPod and putting her earphones in quickly. She wasn't going to give in to Santana.

"I don't think you can have those in, I think we're doing a lecture today. And also I know you don't have any music playing, seeing as your iPod is dead." Santana said, grinning as she pointed at the dead iPod.

Rachel frowned and glared at the girl, she wouldn't give in. She grabbed her notebook, prepared to write down the note when she realized she was missing her pen. A side glance at Santana and she knew that the girl was the cause. _Santana-1 Rachel-0_ she thought to herself in annoyance.

Santana chuckled softly as Rachel searched her bag for another pen, she knew it was only a matter of time before the girl caved and talked to her. Her face falling as she watched the girl proudly pull out another pen.

Rachel stared triumphantly at the Latina, a smug look on her face as she pulled out three other pens as well in case the girl tried to steal more. _Santana-0 Rachel-1_ she thought to herself, taking away Santana's point all together because she could.

Santana spent the rest of the class trying to think of ways to get the girl to talk to her and came up empty handed each time. _This is hopeless_ she thought to herself, knowing Rachel would never give in.

Rachel took off out of the room as soon as the bell rang, she had to find JBI. She stormed down the hall quickly, heading straight for the boy's locker, knowing he'd be there. "Hello, Jacob." She said easily, sending the boy a kind smile.

"H-hey, Rachel. W-what can I do for you?" The boy stuttered nervously.

"Oh, I just had a question..more of a hunch really, and I just _know_ you were the only one that could answer it." Rachel said, leaning closer to the boy.

"A-anything for you, babe." He flirted, much to Rachel's disgust.

Rachel bit her lip, "You see, yesterday my friend had this nasty rumor spread about her. And I know you started it, and I would hate for Santana to show you her Lima Heights hospitality."

The boy's eyes widened, "She thinks it was me?"

"Well, not yet. But once I tell her I found out who it was, she'll be so happy to deal with it." Rachel said, smiling at the boy.

"No! Rachel, it wasn't me. I mean, I did tell people but she made me! I swear it!" Jacob said quickly.

Rachel narrowed her eyes and pushed the boy against the lockers, "Who made you?"

"Quinn. Quinn Fabray. She came to me before lunch and said she heard it in the bathroom, she said if I didn't tell people I would be living in the dumpsters until senior year. I'm only a freshman, that's four years of constant dumpsters!" He said hysterically. "Please, please don't tell her. I'll do anything." He begged.

Rachel smirked, "I won't tell her..._yet_. You owe me one, Jacob. I'll be collecting soon." She said strutting away quickly. Her anger at Quinn increasing with each step, how had the girl stayed hidden in the bathroom? She was sure they were the only ones in there. Even if she wasn't exactly talking to Santana, she would still tell the girl.

* * *

Telling Santana what she found out proved to be quite difficult. She hadn't seen her before lunch, during lunch the girl had a meeting with Coach Sue, and she hadn't seen her after lunch before the end of the day.

Much to Rachel's annoyance, Mr. Shue had canceled Glee today due to an 'emergency'. Grumbling on her way out to the parking lot, she ran right into Quinn.

"Watch where you're going, Man Hands." She blonde said angrily, shoving Rachel.

Rachel narrowed her eyes, "I'm not afraid of you, Quinn."

Quinn smirked, "You should be, dyke. I know all of your little secrets."

"I've never stated I was anything other than lesbian, Quinn. So for you to hold that against me is pointless." Rachel said with a roll of her eyes, walking away from the girl.

"Well people don't know so you just watch how you talk to me or else I'll tell them." Quinn said with a smirk.

"People already don't like me. I have nothing to lose, and I never not once said I wasn't gay, so like I said, this is pointless." Rachel stated as she reached her car.

"Well Santana has made it pretty clear she's straight, wonder what'll happen to her once everyone finds out her secret." Quinn said angrily.

Rachel paused as she opened her car door, "I'm positive you heard her say nothing happened when you were hiding in the bathroom, so for you to spread lies about your once so called best friend is pretty low, even for you. And you're not going to be wearing that smirk once I tell her it was you that started all of this." She said getting into her car and driving out of the parking lot furiously, heading straight for Santana's house.

* * *

As she got out of her car, Santana was walking out her front door. Rachel walked up the driveway quickly, "I need to talk to you." She said hurriedly.

"I was just going to come to your house, I think I figured out why you're mad, and I wanted to apologize. Let's go inside." Santana said and lead Rachel in the house and up to her bedroom.

Rachel sat on the bed softly, her legs swinging. "You can go first." She said, biting her lip.

Santana breathed in deeply, "Okay. Well um, I was thinking about it and couldn't really figure it out, and then it hit me. Obviously I'm confused about..everything, and you were right, I do have an idea of what's going on." She paused slightly before continuing. "And I was so quick to reject the idea when Britts asked, and even worse I told her you kissed a guy even though you wouldn't cause you dig girls. I mean, Britts doesn't know that, but it was dumb to say that when _I_ know."

"Santana that's not-" Rachel started and was cut off by Santana's hand.

"Shh, I know I'm not done." She said teasingly. "Yes I'm scared and confused about my feelings, but I shouldn't deny them when it's my best friend asking me about it. And I shouldn't have denied kissing you cause I mean..it was awesome, and I'm not ashamed, I'm really not. I kinda wanna kiss you all the time, your lips are _berry addicting_." She said, a blush prominent on her cheeks.

Rachel smiled softly, "As cheesy as that was..Thank you, Tana. I know you're confused, and I don't expect you to shout it from the rooftops, it just hurt when you couldn't even say you drunkenly kissed me. I mean, you didn't even have to tell her you might like girls, you just had to admit to kissing me when you were drunk."

Santana bit her lip, "I know, I'm sorry. I'll tell her, if you want. And also, it's not might..I um, I really think I do."

"You do?" Rachel said, a smile on her face.

Santana nodded, "Yeah. I mean, I don't think it's natural to be straight and think about kissing you all day long so.."

Rachel smiled brighter, "Kissing _me_ specifically?"

Santana blushed, "Yeah, I think I like you, Rae. More than a friend-" She tried to say as she was cut off by Rachel grabbing her hips and pulling her on top of her, their lips firmly attached. She gasped in surprise at the girl's strength, smiling as she kissed Rachel back, her hands gripping the girl's face.

Rachel nipped at the cheerleader's bottom lip, her hands roaming slowly under the girl's shirt tracing her abs. Santana shivered above her, her mouth opening and allowing Rachel's tongue in.

Santana breathed heavily above her, pulling away from the girl's kiss. "What did you want to talk to me about?" She questioned, kissing along the girl's jaw and down her neck.

"Definitely not important right now." Rachel breathed out as the girl found and sucked on her pulse point causing her to moan out lowly.

"Mmkay." Santana breathed against the singer's skin, continuing her exploration of the girl's body.

"Oh my god, Santana!" Rachel called out as the girl sucked on her collar bone roughly, definitely leaving a mark. Rachel flipped them over so she was on top, "My turn." She whispered huskily into the Latina's ear, kissing down the side of her neck.

Santana shivered underneath the girl, her hands sliding down the girl's body and resting on her butt with a firm grip. She moaned as Rachel sucked on the base of her neck forcefully, a smirk on the girl's face as she lifted her head to look at Santana.

Rachel straddled the cheerleader comfortably, her hair framing her face perfectly. "I think that'll do. Though I'm sorry it's in a visible place unlike the one you gave me."

Santana smiled and leaned up to kiss the girl softly, "Doesn't bother me." She whispered, her forehead resting against the other girl's.

Rachel smiled brightly, "Really?"

Santana nodded slightly and bit her lip, "Yeah. I totally think we should kiss like way more often."

Rachel giggled and kissed the girl's nose, "Sounds good to me!"

Santana sat quietly for a few minutes, "And maybe..I mean, I'm not ready to put it on Facebook, or shout it from rooftops, but maybe we could be..together."

Rachel's breath caught in her throat, "Like.._together_ together? As in..dating?"

Santana gave a slight nod, "I mean only if you want to, I know you're proud of who you are, and you're not hiding or denying yourself, but I'm not there yet and I don't know when I will be so if you don't want to..I get it."

Rachel grabbed the girl's face and kissed her passionately, a big smile on her face.

"So, it that a no?" Santana joked as they parted, stroking the girl's back softly.

Rachel rolled her eyes and smacked the girl softly, "I don't care if we have to hide until we're graduated, Santana Lopez. I wanna be with you."

Santana smirked, "Think we'll make it to graduation, Berry?"

"Of course that's what you would focus on, Tana." Rachel said with a sigh.

"I'm just kidding, Rae. But now can you tell me what you had to tell me when you got here?" Santana asked hopefully.

Rachel bit her lip, "I uh, figured out who told."

Santana froze, her gaze hard. "Who was it?"

"It was..It was Quinn." Rachel had never seen the girl's mood shift as quickly as it did as soon as the words left her mouth.

"That bitch is dead." She said standing up quickly, making Rachel fall on the floor.

Rachel frowned, "Look, you need to be rational, okay? Attacking Quinn is only going to make people think it's true, and for now it seems to be just a rumor."

Santana paced around her room, "No. A public beat down isn't good enough, I'm going to fight dirty. She's going to be sorry she ever opened her big mouth."

Rachel bit her lip nervously, none of what her new girlfriend was saying sounded good. She had a feeling things were going to end up very, very bad...for both of them.

* * *

**A/N:** And there we have it, make sure to review if you want more! And if any of you ever have any questions/comments do feel free to PM me.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! Thank you all so much for the reviews, I really do appreciate every single one. I'm sorry in advance for this chapter, I've had a lot going on recently and I really wanted to get something out for you guys. This is just more of a filler chapter with some fluff thrown in, I promise next week will be better.

* * *

Rachel sat alone in her room, books and papers spread around and her laptop laying open in front of her. This definitely wasn't how she pictured spending her Friday night, especially her first Friday night as Santana's girlfriend. She had hoped that the girl would ask her to do something, or hangout at least.

Truthfully she hadn't seen much of the cheerleader, apart from biology, lunch and Glee, since Tuesday when they became official. Santana had claimed to be busy with homework and plotting against Quinn, but Rachel had a sickening feeling that she was being ignored and avoided purposely.

Rachel bit her lip and grabbed her phone, if Santana wasn't going to ask her to hang out she would step up and be the one to ask. She dialed the girl's number and waited patiently as the phone rang.

"_If I'm not answering, that means I hate you, hang up and never call back. Don't even bother leaving a message."_ Santana's voice mail rang out, causing the tiny singer to roll her eyes.

Rachel paused, not sure if she should leave a message or not, but decided to anyways. "Hey, Tana. It's me..Rachel. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight..as in Friday night. But I mean if you get this on Saturday I guess we could hang out Saturday. Anyways, let me know as soon as you can, I miss-" Rachel frowned as the voice mail cut her off.

"Whatever." She said in annoyance, tossing the phone onto her bed and going back to her homework.

_So much for finally being content in life_ she thought bitterly to herself.

* * *

It was nearing 10pm and Santana still hadn't called or texted her, Rachel was becoming restless. She finished her homework over an hour ago and had even cleaned her room and now she had nothing left to do.

She plopped down on her bed with a sigh, staring intently at her phone almost begging it to go off. She laughed quietly to herself, _I'm being ridiculous, I've spent my entire high school experience alone on a Friday night_ she thought, tossing her phone on the bed and heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

As she was washing her face, her phone began ringing making her run out of the bathroom quickly, a small smile plastered on her face.

_Incoming Call: Noah Puckerman_

She frowned instantly, not that she didn't want to talk to Puck, he just wasn't who she was hoping for. With a sigh, she answered the call. "Hello, Noah? You know you called me right? Rachel Berry."

"_I know who I called, princess. Why aren't you at my party?"_ The boy said on the other line.

Rachel furrowed her eyebrows, "Well, Noah, I wasn't invited for one, I never am. And for two, I wasn't even aware you were throwing a party."

"_Oh, I thought Lopez would have told you! I thought it was weird when her and Britt showed up without you." _Puck said nonchalantly.

"Santana is there?" Rachel asked quickly, anger taking over her.

"_Yeah, she told me yesterday she was coming. I thought you would be coming with her which is why I didn't invite you myself. But I am now, so come on, babe." _Puck said, almost begging.

"No thank you, Noah. I'm getting ready for bed. But if you see Santana could you tell her to not bother checking her messages?" Rachel asked bitterly.

"_What's got your panties in a twist, Berry? Come let loose, I'll give you all the alcohol you want."_ Puck bribed.

Rachel thought about it, a plan formulating in her mind. "You know what? I'll be there, give me about half an hour." She said, a sly smirk on her face.

"_Sweet. Hudson will pick you up, later, princess."_ Puck said quickly, not giving the girl a chance to reply.

Rachel made her way to her closet quickly, immediately deciding against a dress or skirt. She smirked, grabbing the tightest pair of low rise jeans she could find and matching them with a tight white v-neck crop top.

She got dressed quickly, grinning at her reflection in the mirror. Just the right amount of her toned stomach was showing, the white highlighting how tan she actually was and the v-neck showing off the perfect amount of cleavage. The jeans were tight in just the right places, her butt had never looked better. If this didn't capture Santana's attention, she honestly didn't know what would. She tousled her hair around, silently thanking herself for curling it today. _I look damn good_ she thought to herself.

Just as she was finished re-applying her make-up her phone went off with a new text.

_New Message from: Finn Hudson_

"_hey rach im outside :)"_

Rachel took one last glance at herself in the mirror before exiting her room, she was definitely going to get Santana's attention. Grabbing her handbag and tossing her phone and keys into it she made her way downstairs quickly and out the door, setting the alarm behind her.

"Hello, Finn! Thank you for picking me up." Rachel said brightly as she climbed into the boy's truck.

Finn stared at her for a few seconds with his mouth open, "Uh..yeah, no problem. You look, like, really hot."

Rachel blushed slightly, "Thank you, Finn. You look quite handsome yourself, hoping to attract a female tonight, perhaps?"

It was Finn's turn to blush, "Just one. Maybe you could put in a good word for me since you've been hanging around the Cheerio table lately."

Rachel clapped excitedly at the thought of helping her friend find a girlfriend, "Ooh! I can try, I don't talk to many of the Cheerios though. Who is it?"

"It's Jenna Kelly, she's a sophomore and super nice. We've hung out a few times, but I don't know if it's going anywhere." Finn said with a frown.

Rachel smiled brightly, "Well you are in luck, Finn Hudson because she is one of the Cheerios I actually do talk to during lunch! I'll put in a good word for you." She said with a wink.

Finn gave her his famous half smile, "Thanks, Rach. You're honestly like my best friend. I miss hanging out like we did last year."

"Well maybe we can hang out soon, but right now I've gotta go find Puck, he owes me _a lot_ of alcohol." Rachel said, sending him a smile as she hopped out of the truck and mad her way inside.

* * *

The party had definitely been going on for a little while before she got there, but she could tell it was in full swing as she walked in. She made her way to the kitchen, pushing past many drunk bodies.

"Noah! Where's my alcohol?" She questioned as she spotted him at the back door pouring beer into his cup from the keg.

"Princess! You actually came...and you're dressed damn sexy!" He exclaimed loudly, walking over to the girl and hugging her tightly, lifting her off the floor. "Before I give you any alcohol, I am going to put your bag in a safe place, sound good?" He asked.

"No need, Noah! It's like a wristlet, I can hang onto it." Rachel said, pushing past him to pour herself a beer.

"Nah it's cool, I'll take care of it." Puck said, snatching it out of her hands and passing her his cup. "Here have this one, I'll be right back!" He said, walking out of the kitchen quickly.

Rachel stared after the boy, thankful she had grabbed her phone out of the bag. She leaned on the counter feeling out of place, she really didn't know why she agreed to this.

"Come on, let's be beer pong partners. We can totally kick Hudson's ass." Puck said, sneaking up behind her.

Rachel jumped in surprise, "Jesus, Noah! You scared me half to death." She said, slapping the boy.

Puck smirked, "Sorry, princess. But come on!" He said, grabbing her and dragging her down into the basement where the table was set up.

Rachel scanned the basement quickly, she hadn't seen Santana or Brittany anywhere. "Hey, Noah? Where's Santana?" She asked.

"No idea! Come on, you can shoot first." He said, shoving the ball into her hand.

Rachel stared at the boy, he was definitely hiding something. "Alright, but I'm really good at this game so I don't see how I'm going to get drunk."

Puck smirked, "Don't you worry, princess. I'll take care of that." He said, pulling out a bottle of tequila.

Rachel smirked, this was definitely what she needed to help her forget all about her girlfriend's actions this week. _If she even is my girlfriend_ she thought to herself.

* * *

It was official, Rachel Berry was _wasted_. Puck wasn't exactly sure how it happened, he did make her drink both his and her own share of beer and tequila shots, but he didn't expect this. Santana was definitely going to have him castrated.

_It was Thursday when Santana had called him begging him to come over and of course he had gone. Truthfully, he had gone because he thought they'd be having sex. He looked up at her bedroom window with a smirk, but shook his head and decided to use the front door instead, he didn't want to push his luck._

"_Hey, Puck." Santana said softly, letting the boy into the house and leading him into the living room._

_Puck became worried instantly, it definitely wasn't like Santana to act this way. "You're not dying, right?" He asked quickly as he took a seat on the recliner._

_Santana frowned, "No...I mean hopefully not."_

"_What's up, Lopez? I've never seen you this serious." Puck questioned._

_Santana took a deep breath, "Listen, this is a really hard subject for me, alright? And if you tell anyone what I'm about to tell you I will kill you myself. Got it?"_

"_Shit must be serious. Get on with it." Puck said, sitting back in his seat. "Yeah, okay. I got it. I won't say shit. Now spill." He added, seeing the pointed glare the girl was sending his way._

_Santana closed her eyes tightly, "The rumor about me..it's-it's true."_

_Puck stared shocked, "B-but we've had...sex..a lot of sex."_

_Santana nodded, "I know, and I'm sorry. I swear I wasn't using you, I just..I don't know. I've recently realized it...like really recently."_

"_Well, I mean, it's alright...it's kinda hot. I'm not mad." Puck said, reaching out and laying a supportive hand on the girl's leg._

_Santana bit her lip, "There's more. I'm, um, I'm sort of dating someone."_

"_Damn you just come out of the closet and you've already got a girl? You might just have more game than me...don't tell anyone I said that. Who is it?" Puck asked._

"_God you're not going to believe me if I tell you." Santana said, covering her face._

"_Is it Q?" Puck asked, skeptically._

_Santana sent the boy a glare, "What the fuck? No. It's-it's Rachel."_

_Puck stared at the girl before he started laughing hysterically, "Good one, Lopez. I fucking believed you, you know that? 'Oh I'm gay! And I'm dating Rachel!' Fuck you, you got me good." He said, wiping the tears from his eyes._

_Santana stood up quickly, hands on her hips. "The fuck is that supposed to mean, Puckerman? What you think I can't get someone as amazing as Rachel?"_

_Puck stared at the girl, "Holy shit, you're telling the truth. You and Berry? I never saw this coming."_

_Santana stood guarded, "Yeah, well, it's true so fuck you. I really like her."_

"_I think I should be pissed or something, but I'm honestly really happy for you, San. Who else knows about...all of this?" He asked._

_Santana sat back down, "Well, you, Rachel obviously, and Brittany."_

_Puck stared at the girl, "You told Brittany?"_

_Santana crossed her arms tightly, "Yes. She's my best friend, I trust her."_

_Puck stared at the girl with a knowing look, "Lopez.."_

"_Okay fine, I made her pinky swear and I told her if she broke her pinky swear everyone she loves would disappear." Santana said, not proud of herself._

"_You are a sneaky one, Lopez." Puck said smirking. "So what made you tell me?"_

"_You're kind of one of my best friends, Puck. Not to mention one of Rachel's, yeah I know all about you having her back. And I trust you, and felt like I owed it to you to tell you. I'm not ready to tell the world...but I'm comfortable enough with my best friends knowing." Santana said, a slight blush on her cheeks._

"_Thanks, San. I promise you can trust me." Puck said, holding a fist out to the girl._

_Santana bumped her fist with his, "I need your help with something though." She said, biting her lip._

"_I knew there was a catch to all of this. What do you need?" Puck said rolling his eyes._

_Santana glared at the boy, "I've been so busy this week and I've barely seen Rae at all and I feel really bad and I want to do something nice for her."_

"_You fucked up already, Lopez? That's a new record, how long you been dating?" Puck asked._

"_Three days." The cheerleader mumbled. "And I did not fuck up, I've just been really busy. So I need you to distract her for a few hours tomorrow night so I can set something up."_

"_No can do, I'm throwing a Puckerman house party." He said with a smirk._

"_That's perfect! Invite her to the party, get a few drinks in her then bring her home where I'll be waiting. Neither of her dads will be home so it's perfect. Please, Puck?" Santana begged._

"_Alright fine, you owe me one, Lopez." Puck said, rolling his eyes at the girl's smiling face._

_Santana waved her hand in dismissal,"Yeah okay. Anyways, here's what you need to do..."_

* * *

Puck shook his head, he had to get Rachel back to her house and quick, he was already an hour behind the schedule Santana had set up for him. He was going to be a dead man.

"Come on, Rach, let's get you home." He said, gently pulling the girl upstairs with him.

"What! No way Jose!" Rachel said, bursting out in a fit of laughter. "If you're name was Jose I would love it."

Puck smirked, "Got a thing for Spanish people, princess?"

Rachel's eyes widened, "W-what? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't." Puck teased as he lifted the girl into his Jeep, buckling her in.

"Noah you can't drive! You were drinking!" Rachel exclaimed, trying to push him away from the wheel.

"I haven't drank anything since 10, babe. And it's 1 in the morning, I think I'm good. Besides I've gotta get you home." The mohawked boy said as he drove down the street.

Rachel huffed, "Fine. But just so you know my dads aren't home and I could have stayed over at yours and you could have drank."

"Trust me, I know." The boy muttered as he pulled into her street and parked in front of her house. "Come on, let's go." He said, walking around and lifting her out of the vehicle and placing her gently on the ground.

"I don't have my purse, Noah! Can you text Santana and tell her to bring it to me? She's not talking to me." Rachel said with a pout, stumbling up her walkway.

Puck rolled his eyes and guided the girl to her front door and opened it slowly, "Home sweet home, princess."

Rachel stared at the boy in shock, "How did you open my door?! Are you a wizard? You must have gotten better at picking locks...Don't break into my house 'kay?"

Puck shook his head, drunk Rachel was definitely his favorite version of the girl. "You got it, babe. Come on, let's go into the living room." He said guiding the girl.

"No! It's late, I have to get to bed so I don't burn out and explode. I'm a _star_, Noah." The girl said with a pout as she escaped his grip and started for the stairs, stumbling and tripping up each one.

Santana came rushing out of the living room as soon as she heard all of the commotion, "What the hell? I told you to give her a few drinks not get her completely fucking wasted, Puck!" She chastised the boy, making her way to her very drunk girlfriend.

"Sat..Sanat...Tana! What are you doing here?" Rachel exclaimed excitedly as she sat on the stairs.

"It's...a long story and you're kinda drunk so I'll explain tomorrow, 'kay?" Santana said gently, moving past the boy to sit next to Rachel on the stairs.

Rachel smiled brightly at the girl, "I was so mad at you, but now I'm drunk and you're here and I can't remember why!"

Santana bit her lip, "I'm sorry I made you mad, but I was going to make up for it tonight...but Puckerman fucked everything up." She said, grabbing the girl's hand and playing with her fingers.

Rachel stared down at their hands in shock, "Santana! You can't be girlfriends with me with N-o-a-h standing right there!" She whispered, not realizing how loud she said it.

Puck chuckled, "You spelled the wrong words, babe. And don't worry, Lopez already told me about you guys. I'm gonna head out though before my house gets completely trashed. Enjoy your weekend, ladies." He called out over his shoulder as he walked out the front door.

* * *

Rachel stared at the cheerleader with narrowed eyes, "You were never at Noah's party, were you?" She asked, completely missing what Puck said.

Santana smiled sheepishly, "No, but I promise I'll explain it all tomorrow and you'll love the crap out of what my plan was."

"Okay!" Rachel exclaimed as she attempted to crawl up the rest of the stairs.

Santana laughed softly and picked the girl up, "I'll help you." She said as she carried the girl down the hall and into her room, depositing her onto the bed.

"Tana?" Rachel called out softly.

"Yeah, Rae?" Santana answered.

"Do you like my outfit? I wore it just for you, but you weren't at the party and only a bunch of guys complimented me." Rachel said with a frown.

Santana looked over the girl's body noticing her outfit for the first time, "I _definitely_ like your outfit." She whispered huskily, licking her lips.

Rachel yawned, "Good. But these aren't sleepy clothes, so help." She said unbuttoning her jeans.

Santana stared at her with wide eyes, "W-what?"

"Help me change! I'm sleepy." Rachel said with a huff.

"Uh..okay." Santana said, gripping the girl's jeans with shaky hands and tugging them down.

"I didn't know you were so prude, Tana." Rachel said teasingly.

Santana glared at the drunk brunette, "I am _not_ prude, Berry." She said tossing the girl's jeans on the floor and going into her drawer for a pair of sleep shorts, avoiding looking at the nearly nude girl. "Where do you keep your sleep shirts?" She asked, walking back over to the girl and sliding the shorts up her legs.

Rachel sat on her bed with a pout, "I wanna wear your shirt." She said, tugging at the girl's Cheerios work-out shirt.

"What am I supposed to wear?" Santana asked, pushing the girl's hands away. "Take the aspirin and water I left on your night table." She added with a stern glare, pecking the girl's lips when she did it.

"Your hoodie, it's in my closet...cause I _stole_ it from you." Rachel said mischievously, tugging at the girl's shirt again.

Santana sighed, "Fine, you can have my shirt." She said, tugging it off and tossing it to Rachel. She made her way to the closet pulling out her sweater and putting it on, "Got anymore of my clothes laying around you little snake?" She teased, furrowing her eyebrows when the girl didn't reply.

Santana turned around and saw her girlfriend laying on the edge of the bed sound asleep. She bit her lip and took a picture, the girl looked adorable. Making her way over, she slowly moved the girl so she was laying comfortable in her bed tucked in the blankets. Smiling softly to herself she started making her way out of the room.

"Tana?" Rachel called out sleepily.

Santana paused in the doorway, "Yeah, Rae?"

Rachel threw back the blankets and patted the bed, "Come snuggle."

Santana grinned, closing the door she made her way over to the bed and crawled in behind Rachel, wrapping her arms around the smaller brunette. "Goodnight, Rae." She said, kissing the girl's temple.

Rachel snuggled closely to the cheerleader, "Mmm night, Tana."

Santana smiled and closed her eyes, there definitely wasn't anywhere else she'd rather be than cuddling close to her sleeping girlfriend.

* * *

Rachel woke up the next morning feeling content, snuggling into her blankets and pillow with a small smile on her face. As she snuggled her head into her pillow, she heard a weird thumping noise coming from inside of it. Opening her eyes slowly, she realized she was most definitely not on a pillow but on Santana's chest. Her hand was gripping onto the girl's hoodie tightly, and the cheerleader's arms were wrapped snugly around her.

Suddenly the events from the previous night came rushing back to her in quick flashes causing her to sit up abruptly, waking Santana up in the process.

"Mmm, babe, sleep longer, talk later. Come on." Santana mumbled sleepily, reaching out and grabbing Rachel, cuddling her to her closely.

"Santana, I really think-" Rachel started, being cut off by the girl's hand over her mouth.

"Talk later, promise. Few more hours, 'kay? So cozy." Santana mumbled incoherently, falling back asleep almost immediately.

Rachel smiled softly at the girl's actions, she wasn't sure why Santana had avoided her all week, but being in this position made her forget all about the anger she had toward the girl.

Rachel awoke a little while later to an empty bed with a sigh, not sure if Santana had even actually been there. She threw her blankets off lazily, slowly making her way downstairs where she heard rustling in the kitchen. _That's weird.._ she thought quietly to herself, her dad was still in New York and her daddy had told her he wouldn't be home much this weekend.

She made her way into the kitchen, pausing in the doorway at the sight before her. There Santana stood over the stove, cooking and singing softly to herself. Looking past Santana, she noticed the table was set, a vase full of orchids, her favorite flower, sat in the middle between two plates. There was a pitcher of orange juice on the table, and of course a pot of coffee which she knew Santana couldn't function without. Rachel smiled big and bright, she couldn't believe Santana had gone through all of this work for her. Clearing her throat, she made her presence known.

Santana spun around quickly, she hadn't been expecting the girl to be awake until she was finished. "Morning! I was gonna come wake up when I was done." She said, sending the girl a small smile and turning back around to what she was cooking.

Rachel walked over to the girl and wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, "It smells really good, what are we having?"

Santana leaned back into the girl's embrace, "Veggie omelettes with hash browns and there's a bowl of blueberries and raspberries on the table."

"Hmm, trying to butter me up, Lopez?" Rachel joked, kissing the girl's cheek and moving to sit at the table, plopping a raspberry into her mouth.

Santana flipped the omelettes into their plates with the hash browns and brought them over to the table. "Nah, just trying to do something nice for my girl seeing as I haven't really been the best all week."

Rachel cut into her food and hummed in delight at the taste, "I've noticed...Wanna talk about it?"

Santana bit her lip, "No, but I know we have to." She said with a frown. "I haven't been avoiding you, I promise. I really have been super busy this week with homework and plotting against Quinn. I shouldn't have let that take over, but I did and I'm sorry. Thursday I realized that I wanted to do something nice for you, so I asked Puck for his help and I set up this big whole thing. But he's stupid and everything got messed up."

Rachel stared at the girl in confusion, "I'm confused. What do you mean you asked Noah for help? What got messed up?"

Santana groaned, "I had our entire night set up, Puck was going to distract you for like an hour while I came back here and set up a whole bunch of romantic garbage and then he was supposed to bring you back and we were supposed to have a great, romantic date night."

Rachel looked at the girl with a blank expression, "You told Noah about us?"

"Yes and Britts, but please don't be mad, I know it wasn't my place to tell him you were a lesbian but I-" Santana said, the entirety of Rachel's weight cutting her off as the tiny girl flung herself at the cheerleader.

Rachel buried her face into the crook of the girl's neck, "Santana, that is more than I could have ever asked for. I am so proud of you." She mumbled into the girl, kissing up her neck softly to her cheeks, planting a wet kiss.

Santana blushed, "I mean it's just Britts and Puckerman, I'm not ready to come out to my parents, or the entire school. But I figured my best friends were a good place to start." She said softly, staring into Rachel's eyes. "I'm really bummed though, cause I really did have the perfect night set up."

Rachel chuckled softly, setting herself comfortably on the girl's lap. "Well what did you have planned?"

Santana wrapped her arms around the girl protectively, their fingers intertwined. "Well, I lit a bunch of candles in the living room, I blew them out don't worry, and I had a bunch of sappy movies and musicals laid out. I bought vegan brownie ice cream cause LB told me it was your all time favorite, and I brought my favorite blanket from home so we could cuddle under it. It was going to be really nice." Santana mumbled, feeling embarrassed. "Oh and I bought you these flowers." She said gesturing tot he vase on the table.

Rachel looked at the girl with teary eyes, "Santana that's beautiful. I much rather would have done that with you than hang out at Noah's party."

Santana chuckled softly and wiped the girl's eyes, "Well, you can blame Puck."

Rachel bit her lip, "I could do that. But we could also spend today doing what you had planned, and tomorrow I can make you breakfast."

"You're in luck because I might have happened to come prepared with an overnight bag." Santana said with a smirk.

Rachel got up from the girl's lap and made her way back over to her seat to continue eating, "Well, you better make sure that hoodie doesn't go in that bag." She said with a sly smile. "Or this shirt." She added.

Santana mock glared at the girl, "I think that's called stealing, babe. I'm going to have no shirts left if you keep taking them."

Rachel grinned, "Maybe that's my exact plan."

"Yeah? You like me without a shirt on, Berry?" Santana asked with a smirk.

Rachel blushed, "Perhaps." She said, finishing off her breakfast. "Come on, let's go get on sweats and spend our day being lazy and watching movies." She added, grabbing the girl's plate and putting it in the dishwasher, taking off upstairs quickly.

"Stay out of my bag, Rae!" Santana called out after her knowing exactly what Rachel was going to take.

* * *

The girls watched movies the entire day snuggled close together on the couch. Sure enough Rachel did take a pair of the Latina's sweatpants, a gray pair with Lopez written down the leg, and was sure to inform the cheerleader she wouldn't be getting them back. Not that Santana minded, the sight of her girlfriend in her clothes made her feel all warm inside, something she was sure she wouldn't tell _anyone_.

Rachel checked the time on her phone with a yawn, _7:45_ _where had the day gone? _She thought to herself silently. "Wanna go out for dinner?" She asked Santana who she was practically sitting on top of.

"We could order food...that way we don't have to move, or change." Santana offered.

Rachel looked at her girlfriend with a disapproving stare, "Santana, that is quite lazy don't you think? We've spent the entire day just sitting here on our butts doing nothing. I have a very vigorous work out routine I'll have you know and-"

Santana cut the girl off with a kiss, "Shut up, Berry. I just really don't want to go anywhere, I'm so comfortable and warm and would rather stay cuddled up like this right here than go out."

Rachel looked down, "We can go out as _friends_, Santana. We've done it before."

Santana groaned, tossing her head back into the couch. "That's _not_ what I meant, Rachel. I'm not ashamed to go out with you, Jesus. I just have barely seen you this week and would rather just spend time here, me and you."

"Really?" Rachel asked softly, playing with the tips of the girl's hair.

Santana lifted the girl's head up, "Really really." She said, looking into the girl's eyes.

Rachel kissed Santana's lips gently, "You're kind of great, Santana Lopez. I would rather spend my entire weekend alone with you than go out, too, you know."

Santana smiled into the kiss and kissed the girl with more intensity, "Good, cause that's what we're going to do."

And that's exactly what they did. Santana had slept over again, most of the night was spent with soft whispers, quiet giggles, and lingering kisses before they finally fell asleep wrapped up tightly into each other.

Sunday was spent much of the same way, with the exception that Rachel had cooked breakfast for the two of them. They had spent the day watching Santana's favorite movies, which mainly consisted of action and crude comedy. Santana had gone home before her father's got home, and she couldn't help but have a huge smile on her face the rest of the evening. She had had the most amazing weekend with Santana and not even having school tomorrow could ruin the happiness she was feeling. Before she had gone to sleep, her phone buzzed with a new text.

_New Message From: Santana Lopez_

"_goodnight babe sweet dreams, gonna miss sleeping with u in my arms lol xo see u tomorrow"_

Rachel grinned at her phone screen, if anyone had seen her they'd think she was insane. She typed out a response quickly before drifting off to sleep.

"_Goodnight Tana, can't wait to see you. I miss my cuddle buddy right now :( xx"_

Maybe their relationship wasn't conventional, and maybe people wouldn't understand when it all came out, but for now? They were happy and that's all that mattered.

* * *

**Be sure to review and let me know if you want more, thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's** **Note:** I am so sorry that this is so short and late, I have finals this week and next so I've been so busy studying and what not. I figured something was better than nothing and I hope none of you are too upset with me. I have three weeks off, so I'll be getting a lot written in that time, I promise! I'll have another short chapter up next week probably and then I'll go back to longer chapters as soon as I'm done writing my finals. I apologize for the long author's note, I just had to tell you guys the game plan. Anyways, here's the chapter!

* * *

Rachel awoke with a new light around her, she had had one of the best weekends ever and nothing was going to get rid of her good mood, not even school. She hustled through her morning routine and made her way downstairs quickly, wanting to eat breakfast with her fathers.

"Good morning, Star! You got down here quickly, where's the fire?" Leroy joked, sipping his coffee.

Rachel playfully glared at the man, "Very funny, daddy. I just missed you guys so much, I wanted to come down and have breakfast with you."

Leroy looked at her with skepticism, "What do you want?"

Hiram smacked his husband, "Why don't you believe that our girl might just want to spend time with us?"

Rachel pouted as she ate her fruit salad, "I really did just want to spend time with you guys this morning."

Hiram placed a kiss on the top of his daughter's head as he sat down, "Of course you did, honey. Your daddy is just cynical in his old age."

Rachel grinned at her fathers, she had really missed mornings spent with them. Before she could comment, there was a knock at the door causing all three of the Berrys to look at each other in confusion.

"Well now who could that be at this hour?" Hiram questioned his husband and daughter as he stared at the clock, _6:30_ it read clear as day.

"Well we're not going to find out just sitting around here." Leroy said with an eye roll, making his way to the front door.

"Are you expecting anyone, Star?" Hiram asked, turning toward Rachel.

Before Rachel could answer, Leroy came back into the room with Santana trailing behind, smiles on both their faces.

"Look who I found at the door. Help yourself to some fruit salad, Santana." Leroy said, sitting back down and opening his newspaper.

Santana licked her lips hungrily as she grabbed a plate, "Thanks, LB! Morning, Rae, thought I'd surprise you and pick you up this morning. Thoughtful, right?" Santana asked with a sly smirk.

Rachel grinned at the cheerleader, "Very thoughtful, Tana. You sure you just didn't want breakfast?"

Santana made her way over to the table, sitting right across from Rachel. "Maybe a little of both. I was sorta hoping for pancakes or something."

"If you come over tomorrow morning I'll be sure to make pancakes, Santana." Hiram said, sending the girl a smile.

Santana grinned, "Awesome, thanks, Mr. B, I'll definitely be over again tomorrow."

"What are you doing after school today, Santana?" Leroy questioned, setting his newspaper down.

"Well I have a Cheerios practice, but I can't go because I have tutoring at the same time. I hope you don't mind waiting, Rae. It's only for like an hour." Santana said, biting her lip.

"I didn't know you saw a tutor! I'm totally cool with it, I have some Glee stuff to go over anyways." Rachel said, smiling at Santana.

Santana laughed softly, "No, it's not for me. I'm tutoring someone in calculus for extra credit."

Leroy looked impressed by the girl's words, "Calculus tutoring? I didn't know you had it in you, Lopez." He joked.

Santana playfully rolled her eyes, "I think I've been competing with Rae since like fourth grade for top of the class." She said, sending her girlfriend a smile before adding, "Although, I think I might finally be ahead of her after this semester seeing as I actually have Biology notes that I've made myself."

Rachel sat in her seat looking scared, "Oh my god. Santana you _have_ to help me, what am I going to do when exams come around? I didn't even _think_ to make my own notes, I just assumed we wouldn't even get an exam because he's so lazy and does nothing."

"Woah slow down, babe. You know I won't let you fail." Santana said with a smile, both girls completely unaware of the slip up.

"Thanks, Tana." Rachel said, sending the girl a soft smile as their gazes locked in on each other, completely unaware of the men in the room.

Leroy smirked at his husband from across the table, a silent _I told you so_ being passed between them. "Would you like to come over for dinner tonight, Santana?" He asked, breaking the girls' eye contact.

Santana nodded, "At this rate, I should start putting in grocery money. Ready to go, babe?" She asked, standing up and placing her bowl in the sink, missing the slip up again.

Rachel nodded and stood up, placing her bowl in the sink also. "Sure am! Bye, dads, have a good day." She said with a wave, linking hands with Santana and walking out of the room.

Leroy waited until he heard the front door close shut before turning to Hiram with a cocky smirk. "Ready to go grovel to the department for your job back?"

Hiram rolled his eyes, "She never told us anything, Leroy. Stop counting your chickens before they hatch." He said, not even believing himself.

Leroy chuckled soundly, "Oh my dear husband, always in denial. I'm off to work, enjoy planning the last of the wedding, dear." He said as he left the room.

Hiram sighed, "Oy vey."

* * *

Once Santana and Rachel were in the car, Santana leaned across and pressed a soft quick to the smaller girl's lips. "Hmm, good morning."

Rachel grinned, "Morning to you, too. I missed you last night, you've spoiled me."

"Well, four more sleeps 'till Friday and we can spend our weekend the same way." Santana said with a grin, her fingers laced with Rachel's as she drove to the school.

"My dads will be home this weekend though." Rachel said with a pout.

Santana glanced over at the girl, "Which is why we haven't told them about us yet. Best friends have sleepovers all the time." She said with a proud smirk.

Rachel beamed at Santana, "You're so sneaky, Santana Lopez."

"Duh, that's why I was always grounded as a kid." Santana said as she parked her car in the school lot, unwillingly pulling her hand away from Rachel's.

Rachel bit her lip as she watched Quinn walk by, "Have you decided how you're going to get back at her?"

Santana smirked, "Oh yes. And she's going to be fucking sorry."

"Are you going to tell me what you have planned?" Rachel questioned as they walked inside of the school.

Santana hummed, "All in good time. I'm going to get her when she's least expecting it."

Rachel frowned, "Why not just let it go, Santana? No one is even talking about you or that rumor anymore, there's no need for your diabolical ways."

Santana mock gasped, "There is _always_ need for my diabolical ways. Besides, you live for dramatics, how is this any different?"

Rachel frowned deeper as she opened her locker, "I just don't want this to come back and bite you in the butt, Tana. Fighting fire with fire is never good."

"Jesus, Rae, it's not like I'm going to murder her or spread some junior high level rumor about her. I'm going to destroy her from the inside out." Santana said simply.

Rachel bit her lip, "That doesn't sound good at all, Santana. What are you going to do?"

"Don't worry, but phase one starts today. I've gotta go get ready, see you in bio!" Santana said, frowning when she realized they were in public and she couldn't give the girl a peck on the lips.

Rachel squeezed the girl's hand discreetly, "Be safe, Santana."

Santana rolled her eyes, "You worry too much." She said as she turned and walked down the hall.

Rachel stood nervously at her locker as she watched her girlfriend saunter down the hall, _the girl does not know how to let things go _she thought to herself.

"Morning, Jewbabe." Puck said as he came up behind Rachel.

"Morning, Noah." Rachel said distractedly, still worrying about Santana.

Puck frowned, "Where's Lopez? You two fighting?"

"No we are not fighting, Noah. I just wish she would drop the whole Quinn situation." Rachel said with a sigh.

Puck rolled his eyes, "When has Santana ever let something go? You might have not been friends for that long, but you've known her for as long as I have, Rach."

"I know that, Noah. I just wish she would let it go." Rachel said with a huff, slamming her locker shut and walking off towards her class.

* * *

Santana strolled into Biology twenty minutes after the bell rang with a smug look on her face as she took her seat next to Rachel.

"Miss Lopez, may I ask why you were late?" The teacher asked from the front of the room.

Santana rolled her eyes and waved a slip up in the air, "Cheerios business, Coach Sue's orders."

Rachel rolled her eyes, the girl was lying through her teeth. "Where did you go?" She whispered as she turned towards the cheerleader.

Santana smirked, "Just had to pay someone a visit, you know make sure shit is getting done."

"Santana..." Rachel trailed off, not liking where this was going at all.

"Let's just say Quinn's uniform is looking a little...small, today. And perhaps a little more red." Santana said as she pulled out her notebooks.

Rachel stared at the girl with wide eyes, "What did you do?"

Santana looked at the smaller brunette innocently, "Oh _I_ didn't do anything. But I mean, I know some people who may have been paid to switch her uniform for a very, _very_ tiny size. And I may also know some people who may have been paid to, I don't know, slushie her when she came in...and when she left the bathroom...and maybe a few more times throughout the day."

"_Santana_! You did _not_." Rachel chastised.

Santana grinned proudly, "Oh but I did and I am nowhere near done. I told you, I'm going to destroy her."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I don't see how making her uniform tiny and staining it is doing anything."

Santana smirked, "How do you think Coach is going to react when she sees the state of her precious head cheerleader?"

"Um, I think she's going to go crazy on whoever did it." Rachel said with a confused expression.

Santana grinned big, "Wrong. She's going to rip Q a new one for staining the uniform, and then she's going to lose it when she figures out that Quinn 'out grew' her uniform...Us Cheerios are on a very strict diet."

Rachel was silent for a few moments, "How did you even get someone to shrink her uniform?"

"That was the easy part honestly. Baby Cheerios are in charge of washing all uniforms, and everyone knows that I'm the one to be scared of, not Quinn. Getting the football team to slushie her was the hard part." Santana said with a proud smirk, going back to writing her notes.

Rachel bit her lip, "I hope you know what you're doing, Tana. Because I honestly have no idea how this is going to work in your favor."

"You will. Good things take time, Berry." Santana said, sending her girlfriend a smirk.

"Santana I just don't-" Rachel huffed as Santana cut her off.

"Rachel, please. You just have to trust me and accept what I'm doing, okay? I need to do this." Santana begged.

Rachel sighed in defeat, "Okay, I trust you. I don't know if it'll help, but I have a favor from Jacob that I won't be needing that needs collecting..."

Santana's eyes lit up instantly, "I knew you were good to have around!"

Rachel rolled her eyes, "That the only reason?"

Santana smirked, "Yep." She teased.

Rachel shoved the girl playfully, "I'll remember that later when we go up to my room to 'study'." She whispered, grinning in victory as Santana's smirk dropped.

"I was just teasing! Come on, Rae." Santana pleaded, not wanting to actually study.

Rachel smiled as the bell rang, "See you at lunch, bye!" She said, getting up from her seat and exiting the room quickly.

Santana sat flabbergasted in her seat, her girlfriend was definitely something else.

* * *

Rachel and Santana sat at the Cheerios lunch table in their own little bubble. They were sitting close together, their thighs touching and their heads turned toward each other as they talked in quiet whispers. That bubble was soon popped as Quinn stormed into the cafeteria with fiery eyes.

"Lopez front and center." Quinn spat, standing in front of the lunch table.

Santana rolled her eyes, "What do you want, Fabray? I don't have an extra uniform, maybe you should ask Becky to sew you a new one seeing as yours is looking a little tight."

"You think you're so clever don't you?" Quinn said bitterly.

Santana smirked as she turned around in her seat, "I don't know what you're talking about. What I do know is that Coach is going to have a shit when she sees her _captain_ today. I'm surprised she hasn't already."

Quinn laughed, "You think she's actually going to believe I grew out of my uniform, or that the football team has just decided to start slushying me on their own account? I know you did this."

"You have no proof." Santana said smugly.

Quinn stormed right up to the girl getting right in her face, "I don't need proof, I think it's proof enough that you're a bitter dyke who doesn't like their secrets blown around school."

Rachel sat frozen in her seat watching the confrontation between the two, knowing that if she didn't do something now Santana would definitely get suspended. "Okay, that's enough, Quinn. Stop taking your problems out on Santana, it's not her fault you've grown out of your clothes or that those neanderthal boys have finally realized how awful you truly are." She said with a huff, gripping Santana's arm to stop her from going at Quinn. "Also I don't appreciate the terms you so loosely throw around, they're derogatory and hurtful, and you _should_ be suspended for language like that, but god knows we go to a school run by bigots." She added as she grabbed Santana and dragged her out of the room.

Santana glared hard at Quinn as she allowed her small girlfriend to drag her out of the cafeteria. "This isn't over, Fabray. In fact, it's just begun." She sneered as she was pulled out of the doors.

Quinn stood frozen in her spot, the entire cafeteria snickering and staring at her. "Go back to your lunches, idiots." She said angrily, storming out of the cafeteria.

* * *

Santana was seething as Rachel pulled them into the bathroom, making sure it was empty before locking the door. "Who the fuck does she think she is throwing around words like that? I can't believe I was ever friends with her, she's awful. What the fuck was I thinking? God what if people believe her, I can't have people thinking I'm a lesbian." Santana ranted out, pacing back and forth angrily.

Rachel frowned, "But you are a lesbian..." She trailed off.

Santana sighed loudly, "I'm not _ready_ to be one, okay? Not in public, imagine what people will say, Rachel. I can barely keep people from slushying you, how am I supposed to protect us if everyone treats me like a freak."

Rachel frowned deeper, "I've lasted two and a half years at this school without your protection, Santana. It's not the worst thing in the world, you know. People are terrified of you, that's not going to stop just because you like girls."

"It could, and then what do I do? What if my parents hate me, or I get kicked off the Cheerios? I need the Cheerios to go to college." Santana said, still pacing.

Rachel reached out and grasped the girl's hand tightly, "Santana, baby, you don't need Cheerios for college. You're so smart, you said it yourself, we've been fighting for top grade since forever. Your parents will accept you no matter what, and even if they don't you know my dads love you. People at this school will continue to be scared of you no matter what, all of the boys think you're the hottest thing, imagine when they find out you like girls?"

Santana squeezed Rachel's hand back, "Maybe you're right. But it took you two years to come to terms with yourself, you can't expect me to just come running out of the closet draped in a rainbow flag, Rae."

Rachel smirked and looked at her girlfriend with a glint in her eye, "You can come running out of _my_ closet draped in a rainbow flag if you wanted..."

Santana stared at the girl with wide eyes, "Rachel Berry! Who knew you had it in you?"

Rachel blushed, "Just for you, baby."

Santana grinned brightly and kissed the singer deeply, "Thanks, Rae." She sighed into the girl's mouth.

Rachel pulled back slightly, looking at the Latina with a confused expression. "For what, Tana?"

Santana wrapped her arms around the girl's waist, pulling her in close. "For knowing exactly what to say and do. If you hadn't of gotten me out of the cafeteria, I would have killed that blonde bitch. You knew exactly what to say to calm me down. Mami and papi are going to kiss your feet when I tell them the summarized story of what happened."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Well, I can't have my girlfriend getting expelled and sent to jail for murder now could I?"

Santana smiled and pulled the girl in tighter, burying her face in Rachel's neck. "I think I'm really falling for you." She said softly, laughing softly into her neck.

Rachel's breath caught in her throat, tears springing into her eyes. "I bet you never thought you'd say that." She said, letting out a shaky laugh.

Santana pulled back from the girl's neck to look into her eyes, "I think deep down I always knew."

Rachel searched the girl's eyes for any uncertainty, tears slipping down her face at the honesty she felt being penetrated into her soul. "I think I'm really falling for you, too." She whispered.

Santana wiped the girl's cheeks, "Well thank god, cause it would be hella embarrassing if you weren't." She teased.

Rachel laughed and gripped the back of Santana's neck, pulling her in for a kiss. Santana's hands automatically went to the singer's hips, gripping tightly as she opened her mouth allowing Rachel's tongue to enter. Santana could deal with Quinn another day, but right now there was nowhere else she wanted to be.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked this chapter, again I'm really sorry it's late and not very long. Please be sure to review if you want more!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I'm glad you liked it! Someone pointed out that I was downsizing Santana's coming out, and I'd just like to say that she hasn't come out and none of that has happened, nor do I plan on making it that way. I got most of this chapter completed over the weekend in between studying and I figured if I didn't stop it where I did, it wouldn't have come out this week at all in between the rest of my finals and moving back home for the Christmas break. I'll be back to longer chapters with the next few updates, so you just have to get through this week!

* * *

After the Quinn meltdown at lunch, Santana decided it was in her best interest to leave school for the rest of the day and reschedule her tutoring session. With a lot of convincing she had managed to get Rachel to leave with her, deciding the cheerleader's house would be the safer place because it was unlikely her parents would be home. That is what found Santana laying on her bed with Rachel right on top of her.

"Rae, just calm down your dads will be fine with you ditching, you never do it anyways." Santana said as she lightly ran her fingers up and down the girl's back.

Rachel sighed into the girl's neck, "I just think I'm going to get in trouble, I didn't even ask them, Tana."

"I'll take the blame, it's no biggie." She said, snuggling Rachel closer to her body.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Well it _is_ your fault, you influenced me to leave with you."

Santana opened her mouth to speak, the door opening and shutting before she got a chance to retaliate. "What the hell?" She thought aloud, nudging the small girl on top of her so she could get up.

Rachel's eyes widened as she sat cross-legged on the bed, "Is that your parents?"

"No, I would have heard the garage or their cars at least." Santana said, carefully walking over to her bedroom door and opening it a crack to look out.

"S? Rachie? Are you guys here?" Brittany called out as she came up the stairs.

Santana sighed in relief as she opened her door further, "Jesus, Britts, you scared the fuck out of us. What are you doing here?" She asked, checking her clock for the time. "You still have two classes and Cheerios."

Brittany walked into the room and sat on the bed next to Rachel. "Well actually, Coach canceled practice, and I'm already failing math and geography so I don't have to go to them anyways."

Santana frowned, "Coach never cancels practice, what happened?"

Brittany grinned, "That's why I came over! Oh, San, you should have stayed and seen it."

"What happened, Brittany?" Rachel questioned, biting her lip.

Brittany bounced excitedly, "Well Coach called an emergency meeting right after lunch for all Cheerios because she heard what happened between you and Q. So we're all there except for you and her, and Coach freaks out because she mainly called it because of you two. So I told her you probably went home so that you wouldn't kill Quinn."

Santana smiled softly, "Thanks, Britt. What happened next?"

Brittany smiled back at the Latina before continuing, "Quinn came into the meeting covered in slushie, I guess she got hit again a few more times, and Coach literally almost threw the megaphone at her. Quinn started yelling and told her you did it but don't worry, Coach didn't believe her and made her go change into another uniform."

Santana frowned, "So why was practice canceled?"

Brittany rolled her eyes, "Let me finish, I'm almost at the good part. So Quinn comes back into the room, and all of the extra uniforms that were her size didn't fit, so she tells Coach she needs a size bigger..." Brittany trails off, a glint in her eye.

Santana grinned mischievously, "Coach freaked the fuck out didn't she?"

Brittany nodded quickly, "She told Quinn to leave and not come back until she fit back into a size lower than the one she even wears. Quinn freaked out and said she could fit into that size now and tried to show her, but Coach wasn't having any of it. She canceled practice cause she just lost her head cheerleader. She may have told me to tell you to head to her office first thing tomorrow morning." Brittany said, squealing excitedly.

Santana smirked, "Wow, this plan has worked a lot faster than I even intended it to. I thought it'd go on at least until Wednesday. This day has definitely turned around, right, babe?"

Rachel frowned from her spot on the bed, "I still don't think this is a good idea, don't you think messing with her could really harm her? Especially with her weight and stuff. I don't know about this, Santana."

Santana frowned and made her way over to the small brunette, "Look, Q was my friend once okay? I'm not going fuck her up, she just needs what's coming to her. I promise I won't take it too far, okay?"

Rachel sighed, "Whatever, Santana. This is your thing, not mine."

Santana pouted, "Don't be mad at me, please?"

Rachel frowned but pulled the girl's face down to her level, "Fine, but only cause you're so cute when you pout." She said, kissing the girl's pouted lips softly.

Brittany giggled next to Rachel, "You guys are like, super cute. And I totally knew there was something going on, I sensed it."

Santana rolled her eyes as she placed herself in Rachel's lap, "Sure you did, B. "

"Santana! Your bed is big enough so that you don't have to sit on me, get off." Rachel huffed, trying to push the girl off.

"I really did know something was going on with you two!" Brittany whined out.

Santana smirked and planted herself firmly down on top of her girlfriend, "What's the matter, Rae? You don't like it when I sit on you?"

"No! Get off!" Rachel said, wiggling around trying to get the girl to move.

Santana playfully pondered the question, "Hmm, okay!" She said, rolling Rachel's lap and pulling her by the waist so she'd end up on top.

"Santana!" Rachel shrieked with a giggle.

Brittany smiled at the two brunettes, "Well, I just came by to tell you what happened, San. I'm going to go, I think Mike wanted to hang out."

Rachel turned her head so she could see the blonde, "You don't have to leave, Brittany, I promise we won't keep acting like this." She said, trying to get off of Santana to prove her point.

Santana tightened her grip on the smaller brunette so she couldn't get away. "You and Chang? I totally see it."

Brittany shook her head, "No, San. It's to go over Glee choreography and stuff, Regionals is in like three weeks and we have _nothing_ ready. Maybe our leaders should fix that." She teased as she walked out of the room.

Rachel stared at Santana with wide eyes, "Oops."

Santana laughed loudly, "Rachel Berry _forgot_ about a show choir competition? I never thought I'd live to see the day."

Rachel playfully punched the girl in the shoulder, "Tana this isn't funny! We have so much to do, and I think we need Mercedes back, as much as I hate to admit it, she has such an amazing voice. We can't lose her because of some minor disagreements."

Santana groaned, "But, Rae, we have enough people to compete."

"We need her voice, Santana, I'll admit that she has one of the best voices in the club, next to mine of course." Rachel said with a frown, noticing the look Santana was giving her she added, "And yours, silly."

"Can we worry about Glee later and take a nap now? Not a long one, just a short one, I'll need my energy if I'm still coming over for dinner. God knows your dads are going to rip me a new one for making you ditch school." Santana said, already half asleep.

Rachel giggled softly, "Well, I don't have much of a choice, do I? You're already half asleep and have a death grip on me."

Santana nodded and held the girl tighter, "Mhm, set your alarm."

Rachel snuggled into the girl's embrace, "I wish I could snuggle with you all the time! Who knew Santana Lopez was a big softie."

Santana mumbled incoherently as she placed her hand over the girl's mouth. "Shh, sleepy time."

Rachel kissed the girl's hand softly, "You got it, baby." She whispered, shutting her eyes and drifting off.

* * *

Santana woke up and looked around the room groggily, her girlfriend was nowhere in sight. "Rachel?" She called out warily as she slowly sat up on the bed, rubbing her eyes.

Rachel poked her head out of the bathroom, "Oh you're awake! I was just about to come wake you up."

Santana grinned, "If you were going to do it with kisses I'll pretend to be asleep still so you can."

Rachel shook her head, "I wasn't, I was going to dump cold water on you. I hope you don't mind, but I borrowed a shirt."

"Oh yeah? You 'borrowed'?" Santana questioned rolling her eyes. Knowing that she probably wouldn't be getting it back, much like the rest of her clothes the girl had seemed to have borrowed.

Rachel smiled as she stepped out of the bathroom, "Yes, I _borrowed_ it."

Santana narrowed her eyes, Rachel had stolen her favorite t-shirt to wear around the house. It was one she had gotten years ago from her dad, he had bought it big so she 'could keep it for a long time and always remember'. It was a plain white shirt with '_I left my heart in Lima, OH_' written across it. He had matching shirts made for the both of them, hers was so faded you could barely make out what it said anymore. She may be a self proclaimed bad ass, but that shirt was sentimental to her, and she definitely didn't want the girl to steal it.

"Santana? Are you okay?" Rachel asked, breaking the girl out of her trance.

Santana shook her head slightly, "I just...Why that shirt?"

Rachel looked at the girl, taken aback. "I'm sorry?"

"Why did you have to grab that shirt? I don't have a problem with you taking my clothes cause it's cute as fuck, but not that one, 'kay?" Santana said, not wanting to talk about it further.

Rachel bit her lip, "I didn't know this was so important to you, Tana, I'm sorry."

Santana frowned, "My dad gave it to me a long time ago, it's my favorite shirt. You can wear it whenever you want when you're here, but you can't take it, alright?"

Rachel nodded and made her way over to Santana, cupping her face. "I really didn't know, I'm sorry. I'll ask next time before I take, sound good?" She asked, pouting out her lips.

Santana smiled and pecked the girl on the nose, "Thanks, babe. I'm sorry I got all weird."

Rachel shook her head dismissively, "Nonsense, it's okay. Now find me a new shirt, preferably one that smells like you." She said, pulling the shirt she was wearing off and folding it neatly.

Santana stared at her dumbly, her eyes roaming all over the tiny girl's body. "Uh, yeah, okay."

Rachel smirked slightly, "Like what you see?"

Santana nodded quickly, "Uh, yeah like a lot."

Rachel smirked more cockily and licked her lips, "Do you want to maybe see if you like the way it feels just as much?"

Santana stared at the girl with wide eyes and slowly began to make her way over, her eyes darkening in arousal. She tentatively brushed her fingertips down the girl's toned stomach, feeling the goosebumps rise on her skin. Santana looked up at Rachel slightly making sure what was happening was okay, continuing when the girl nodded slightly.

Rachel's breath got caught in her throat as Santana's feathery touches slowly made their way up her stomach and over her bra-clad chest. "Y-you can go under.." She stammered as the cheerleader's hands worked her breasts.

Santana bit her lip nervously, just as she was reaching to move the girl's bra out of the way, Rachel's phone began to ring cause both girls to jump apart quickly.

Rachel chuckled slightly as she moved away from Santana to answer her phone. "Hello?" She answered, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"_Where are you, star?"_ Leroy questioned on the other end of the phone.

"Oh I'm just at Santana's, sorry I forgot to text you." Rachel said nervously, biting her nail.

"_Is Santana still coming over for dinner tonight?"_ Leroy asked.

"Ummm, I believe so." Rachel said, mouthing the question at Santana, smiling when the girl nodded.

"_Shelby is also coming over for dinner tonight, she's bringing a potential boyfriend with her, who would have thought."_ Leroy chuckled.

Rachel glared at Santana as the girl threw a balled up shirt at her, hitting her square in the head. "Shelby is bringing a date to dinner? Are you sure Santana is still welcomed?" She asked skeptically.

"_Oh nonsense, Santana is practically family, she's here all the time. Plus we invited her before we even knew Shelby was bringing someone."_ Leroy said airly.

"Okay, well, I'll see you in a bit, daddy!" Rachel said cheerily.

"_Oh that reminds me, star. I think it's in your best interest to be here now, along with Santana so we can have a chat before dinner, hmm?"_ Leroy asked.

Rachel shut her eyes tightly, _busted_ she thought. "Yes, daddy. We'll be right over." She said, hanging up the phone and turning to Santana. "We are so busted, he wants us there now so we can have a chat."

"Well, let's go then so we don't get in more trouble. He's already going to kill me." Santana said with a frown.

"Dad will be there, too, so he'll be the peace keeper, don't worry so much." Rachel said, pulling Santana out of the room and out to the car.

* * *

"Daddy?" Rachel called out as her and Santana walked into her house.

"In the kitchen, star." Leroy called back to her.

Rachel looked over at Santana, "Let me do all the talking, okay?" She whispered, walking off to the kitchen, a smile on her face.

"Well hello my little rebel, how was your day?" Leroy teased.

Rachel rolled her eyes and planted a kiss on the man's cheek. "It was okay, I really was going to text you and tell you what had happened, but I just got so caught up."

Leroy sat at the table and gestured for both girls to sit down, "I hope you have a good explanation for yourself, Rachel."

Rachel sat down quickly and tugged on Santana to do the same, sending a warning glance at her. "I do have an explanation, and that explanation is Quinn Fabray." She said simply, folding her hands in front of her, trying to ignore Santana's curious look.

Leroy sucked in a breath, "What did that girl do now? Are you okay? I didn't receive a call, I hope you didn't decide to drop it again."

Rachel shook her head, "I'm fine, it was all a misunderstanding. Thankfully Coach Sylvester put Quinn in her place, that's why you didn't receive a call, other than my leaving school."

"And where was Santana in all of this?" Leroy asked, glancing at the Latina.

Rachel bit her lip, "Actually, um, Santana was the one Quinn had an altercation with. I had to get Santana out of there before she went to the angry place and did something she'd have regretted."

Leroy stared at the girls in confusion, "I don't understand."

Santana sighed, "Quinn has been going around saying things about me lately and today she did it in front of the entire cafeteria and Rachel got me out of there before I could do anything. So if you're going to be mad, be mad at me cause it's my fault."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Actually if you're going to be mad at anyone, be mad at Quinn. She's malicious and disgusting and I don't know how she doesn't have a mob of angry people at her door."

Leroy stared at the girls for a few moments, "Well, seeing as I don't understand what exactly went on, I don't think I can punish you. Just don't do it again, alright?"

Santana breathed a sigh of relief, "Thanks, LB."

Rachel smiled at the man, "Thanks, daddy. Santana and I have to go work on some homework now, so call us down when dinner is ready? It's just regular dinner tonight, right?"

Leroy stared skeptically at the two girls in front of him, "How is it that you two have homework when you only went for half a day of classes?"

Rachel silently scolded herself, of course her daddy would catch her in the lie. "Well, maybe we're going to watch movies. Where's dad? He would have believed me." She said with a pout.

Leroy shook his head, "He went to the store to get some last minute groceries. And to answer your question earlier, yes it's a regular dinner. Shelby called and warned us that we better not scare off her new friend."

"Well good, cause I don't feel like dressing up tonight." Rachel said with a frown, grabbing Santana's hand and dragging her out of the kitchen.

Leroy smirked, "Rachel? Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" He called out, imaging the look on his daughter's face.

Rachel knitted her eyebrows in confusion as she pulled Santana up the stairs, "Um, I don't think so...I can't think of anything else I've done." She called back, still trying to think of something.

Leroy chuckled from his spot at the table, "Okay, star. Well, when you figure it out I'll be waiting."

"Okay, daddy!" Rachel said, still confused.

Leroy got up from his spot and made his way to the bottom of the stairs, "Oh and, Rach?"

Rachel stuck her head out of her door, "Yes?"

"Door stays open, alright?" Leroy said with a smirk.

Rachel stared at the man in confusion, "Since when? You never make me leave my door open when I have guests over." She bit her lip before continuing. "Only when I had-Oh." She said with wide eyes.

Leroy laughed, "Enjoy your movie, star."

"Daddy.." Rachel called out, looking over at Santana to make sure the girl was still busy with the DVD collection.

"We'll talk about it later." Leroy said, walking back into the kitchen.

* * *

Rachel bit her lip as she walked over to her bed and plopped herself down, "Tana? I think daddy knows."

Santana shot her head up quickly, hitting it off of the girl's dresser. "Fucking ow." She exclaimed, rubbing her forehead.

Rachel rushed over to the girl to take a look at her forehead, "Are you okay? That was a hard hit." She said, placing a kiss on the spot.

"I'm fine, why do you think he knows? You don't think he told anyone, right?" Santana asked, her eyes nervously darting around the room.

Rachel sighed, "I know he knows, but he won't tell anyone. Especially when I talk to him and tell him not to."

"Okay." Santana said with a frown.

Rachel smiled sympathetically, "I'm sorry, baby. I really don't know how he figured it out."

Santana looked at the girl with a sheepish smile, "I'm more upset about the fact we probably won't be able to have a sleepover this weekend now."

Rachel laughed loudly, covering her mouth quickly. "Well daddy can't tell us we can't if dad doesn't know because he would get suspicious." She said, smirking mischievously.

Santana grinned, "I knew you had a mischievous side to you, Rae. I dig it."

Rachel wrapped her arms around the girl's neck tightly, "Good, cause you bring out the best in me, baby."

Santana picked the girl up and placed her down on the bed, placing a sloppy kiss on her cheek. "Ready to watch the movie I picked?"

Rachel scooted back on the bed to make room for Santana to lay down next to her, "Why do I get the feeling I'm really not going to like the movie you picked?"

Santana put her hands up in mock defense, "Hey, it's your movie collection. It's not my fault I saw it and couldn't resist."

Rachel groaned as the movie started, she honestly had no idea how it had ended up in her bedroom collection. "Santanaaaa, it's only the beginning of November, Thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet."

Santana gasped dramatically, "How did I end up with a grinch as a girlfriend? As soon as Halloween is over I am so in the Christmas spirit. Maybe _you_ should replace Jim Carey in this movie."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I'd like to at least have Thanksgiving before watching a Christmas movie. And if I was going to play any role in this, it would be Cindy."

Santana stifled a laugh at the tiny girl, "And why is that?"

Rachel looked at Santana with a look of disbelief, "Are you serious? Four words, Santana; Where are you, Christmas."

Santana was full on laughing at this point, "You're crazy."

Rachel huffed and folded her arms, "You like it." She mumbled with a pout.

Santana smiled and pecked the girl's lips over and over again until she broke out into a smile. "And don't you forget it."

* * *

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